Announcing a 50% rise in pre-tax profit to 拢71.4m before exceptional items, Mason said Amec wanted to be an "influential participant" in a European superleague of contractors.
With turnover up slightly to 拢3.39bn, Amec is already the UK's biggest contractor, but Mason has set his sights higher.
He said: "Over the next few years, a very small number of major European players will emerge who will be powerful enough to deliver the full life-of-asset service, from private finance through to maintenance and operations.
"Our ambition is to be an influential participant in that league. Our successful investment in [French contractor] Spie is a useful step forward and has proved a very effective lever to ensure, as a minimum, a seat at the discussion table," he said.
Amec has been linked with Tarmac in the past year, but, without mentioning Tarmac by name, Mason dismissed speculation of a merger.
He said: "There have been many articles and commentaries in the last 12 months on the UK construction industry's consolidation, and Amec's name has been linked with others on more than one occasion.
"We have considered transactions in the UK construction sector, but we have no particular interest in acquiring volume in traditional building and civil engineering in the UK market.
"This would bring yet more exposure to the same economic cycle and take us back into sectors which, although they may be our history, are not our future." Last week, it was revealed that US group Centex Corporation is in talks to buy Amec's Fairclough housing arm. Mason said Amec's position as the market leader in private finance initiative projects means it is unlikely to miss the high returns from Fairclough. Amec makes a 20% average return on its current PFI investment, which it plans to double to 拢170m.
Fairclough sold 1717 units in the year to 31 December 1998, generating 拢200m turnover. But profit fell 拢1m to 拢15.4m.
Construction turnover was up 8% to 拢380m, aided by a strong performance at Amec's pharmaceuticals division. Mason said he hoped the business would lift its "slim" margins by shifting away from traditional contracting.
After suffering the effects of the German market collapse in 1997, Amec reduced its activities there in 1998. But the division still dragged Amec's civils and building businesses into the red, with losses down from 拢13.6m to 拢2.1m.
Amec also signalled that it may dispose of Morse Diesel, its underperforming US business.
