Charles Jillings, CEO of Utilico, energized by strong economic momentum across Latin America. Watch the video here.
London South East prides itself on its community spirit, and in order to keep the chat section problem free, we ask all members to follow these simple rules. In these rules, we refer to ourselves as "we", "us", "our". The user of the website is referred to as "you" and "your".
By posting on our share chat boards you are agreeing to the following:
The IP address of all posts is recorded to aid in enforcing these conditions. As a user you agree to any information you have entered being stored in a database. You agree that we have the right to remove, edit, move or close any topic or board at any time should we see fit. You agree that we have the right to remove any post without notice. You agree that we have the right to suspend your account without notice.
Please note some users may not behave properly and may post content that is misleading, untrue or offensive.
It is not possible for us to fully monitor all content all of the time but where we have actually received notice of any content that is potentially misleading, untrue, offensive, unlawful, infringes third party rights or is potentially in breach of these terms and conditions, then we will review such content, decide whether to remove it from this website and act accordingly.
Premium Members are members that have a premium subscription with London South East. You can subscribe here.
London South East does not endorse such members, and posts should not be construed as advice and represent the opinions of the authors, not those of London South East Ltd, or its affiliates.
Atkin's financial position remains strong, with net funds at the end of June of around £130m. "The group has made a good start to the year and the outlook for the full year remains unchanged and in line with expectations," the company said. Investec reiterated a 'reduce' rating for the stocks and a target price of 1025p following the interim statement. "Trading has clearly improved and the group has weathered the downturn well, so this re-rating has justification," said Investec analyst John Lawson. "However, an 'in line' statement today and only modest 'underlying' near-term earnings growth (adding back the recent IAS19 pension changes) may suggest that further near-term progress could be limited."
In North America, the transportation consultancy business made progress with the restructuring and reorganisation of the infrastructure and environment division. In the Middle East, Atkins secured work as the lead multidisciplinary designer for Doha Metro's Red Line south as part of the QDVC consortium (Qatari Diar/Vinci Construction Grands Projets). The headcount remained stable during the first quarter due to delays in project awards. Its Asia Pacific business performed well with progress made in diversifying the unit in Hong Kong into the wider infrastructure market, increasing its presence in south east Asia and building a multidisciplinary offering in mainland China.
Engineering and project management consultancy Atkins said it performed in line with expectations in the first quarter, according to a trading update on Wednesday. The group continued to experience positive momentum in the UK, driven by the rail business. The water and environment business was successful in securing a place on the Environment Agency's water and environmental management framework as part of a consortium, with Atkins as the design partner. Following the company's announcement of the sale of its UK highways business, it has transferred four contracts to Skanska and expects the four remaining contracts to be transferred in coming months. The European business experienced a steady start to the year, trading against a strong performance in the first half of last year.
Atkins: JP Morgan takes target price from 859p to 893p and reiterates an overweight rating.
Business in the Middle East, on the other hand, experienced setbacks as negotiation of outstanding contract variations continued to be a challenge, impacting short-term profitability and cash flow. "The group continues to trade in line with our expectations and despite challenging conditions in a number of markets our outlook for the full year remains unchanged," the company said in a statement.
Engineering and product management consultancy Atkins on Wednesday said it was trading in line with expectations despite challenging market conditions. The FTSE 250 company has faced difficult trading conditions over the past three months, particularly in North American, according to a business update. Nevertheless, Atkins reported it was on track to deliver net funds exceeding £110m in March. UK trading was one of the biggest revenue drivers, with the group's rail business, water and environment operations and defence and aerospace work progressing well. During the period Atkins secured further design work for highways and transportation including the M25 motorway. The Asia and Europe units businesses also produced strong results with an increased headcount in project consultancy arm Faithful+Gould. The energy division continued to perform well in the period with headcount growing by more than 15% since the start of the year.
Monday 21 January, 2013 Atkins (WS) Director/PDMR Shareholding RNS Number : 0361W Atkins (WS) PLC 21 January 2013  NOTIFICATION OF TRANSACTIONS OF DIRECTORS, PERSONS DISCHARGING MANAGERIAL RESPONSIBILITY OR CONNECTED PERSONS Mr. Donald Lawsona person discharging managerial responsibilities of WS Atkins plc (the "Company"), notified the Company on 21 January 2013, that on 18 January 2013 in London he acquired and then sold 4,890 ordinary shares of 0.5 pence each in the Company following the exercise of nil cost options awarded under the Atkins Deferred Share Plan. The share price at which Mr. Lawson exercised and sold his shares was £7.70 per ordinary share. The acquisition of 4,890 ordinary shares equated to 0.0049% of the voting issued share capital. Mr. Lawson's total interest in shares following this notification is 3 ordinary shares, representing 0.000003% of the voting issued share capital of WS Atkins plc. This notice is given in fulfillment of the obligations under DTR 3.1.4R (1). Rachel Hunter Company Secretarial Assistant Telephone: +44 (0) 1372 752456
Please can someone advise me on the purchase at 760. What is your true opinion?
Atkins: Jefferies downgrades from buy to hold, while maintaining the target price at 800p.
Atkins: Jefferies reduces target price from 850p to 800p, buy recommendation reiterated.
Atkins: JP Morgan Cazenove reduces target price from 862p to 859p, overweight rating maintained.
That said, most of the bad news looks like it's in the share price. The shares, at 8.5 times forecast earnings for 2012-13, are rated well below the support services average of 10 times. There is also the possibility of bid action after UK peers Scott Wilson and WSP were snapped up. And there is always that dividend to look forward to........BUT AS ALWAYS DYOR ....
It isn't all success in the oil-producing regions, though. The Middle East has been hit by extended bidding processes, lower profit margins and lumpy payments. True, the long-term infrastructure story in the region remains encouraging but, as oil-rich states exercise their buying power, margins may get squeezed even more. That's a worry as the Middle East contributes 10 per cent of revenue and 17 per cent of profits. In the US, the presidential election created a hiatus in starting infrastructure projects. That's a concern as the region is responsible for almost a quarter of revenue and a fifth of profits. One issue is legacy contracts in the Peter Brown construction business, which management has been grappling with for a year now. Then there is the bigger problem of US budget wrangling. The region looks set to struggle until matters are resolved.
The UK division is responsible for half of revenues and pre-tax profits and Atkins has slowly been increasing headcount. Meanwhile, exposure to growing overseas markets is useful. Atkins designed a new tram line in Sweden and the third runway in Hong Kong, which helped solid trading in Europe and the Asia Pacific region; these generate 10 per cent of revenue and profits. And as global demand for oil and gas stays firm, demand is buoyant in Atkins' Energy division, which is responsible for around 7 per cent of revenues and 10 per cent of profits.
Engineering consultancy WS Atkins (ATK) is adapting to lower business volumes, trading in its core UK markets is stable, its balance sheet is strong and its dividend looks secure. So, despite tough trading in the US and Middle East and a profit warning in August, we think patient income-orientated investors should take a closer look at Atkins. The main attraction is clearly that dividend, which has grown at 11 per cent a year over the past 10 years. That pace of growth won't be maintained. Even so, on the current year's likely payout, the yield is almost 5 per cent. The payout currently looks secure and, if it tracks future earnings, it may grow - with some variation - at approaching 5 per cent. The next question concerns the quality of those earnings after profit warnings from construction companies saw Atkins' share price fall 10 per cent last week. Certainly times are tough, but Atkins is well-placed to receive a steady, albeit rather slow, stream of infrastructure work from the UK government. Although Atkins could get dragged into the furore surrounding the West Coast train line franchise, noises about other infrastructure work are encouraging. Atkins says it had a "good start" to the year and confirmed in the August warning that rail and highways contracts are still coming through, with regulatory work in the water sector also helping.
For the group as a whole, cash used in operations was £12.6m, whereas the year before it had generated £12.9m from operation in the six months period. Performance in Asia Pacific and Europe has been strong, while the group's Energy business continues to deliver strong top and bttom line growth. "The group has delivered encouraging results in line with our expectations, with the sector and geographic spread of our business continuing to provide resilience in challenging markets. Implementation of our strategy continues and the outlook for the full year remains unchanged," declared Uwe Krueger, Chief Executive Officer of Atkins. "We are pleased to be recruiting again and, in particular, are delighted to welcome over 500 graduates to the group this autumn," he added. The board has declared an interim dividend of 10.0p per share, representing an increase of 2.6% on last year's interim divi of 9.75p.
Design and engineering consultancy group WS Atkins topped expectations with its interim profits, and signalled optimism for the future by announcing that it has resumed recruiting. Underlying profit before tax in the six months to the end of September declined 5.4% to £43.9m from £46.4m the year before. Broker Peel Hunt had forecast profit before tax of £42.4m. Statutory profit before tax improved 14% to £50.4m from £44.2m, but this included a £7.6m profit on the sale of the group's non-controlling interest in RMPA Holdings in May of this year as well as £1.1m of amortisation of intangible assets relating to the PBSJ acquisition in North America. Revenue dipped 3.2% to £815.7m from £842.9m, with the downward trend in the top line partly reflecting the sale last November of the UK asset management business; the disposed of business chipped in with £20.2m of revenue in the first half of the previous financial year. Performance in the UK was described as "solid" but the North American business continues to suffer weak markets which are expected to endure for the rest of the financial year. Performance in the Middle East has been hit by project delays and protracted contract wrangling, all of which is soaking up working capital in the region.
Atkins (WS): Investec reduces target price from 727p to 700p, hold recommendation maintained.
Good result today for you guys
Outlook The outlook for our UK business remains good, with secured work in hand of 92% (2011: 92%) of this year's forecast revenue. We continue our focus on higher margin work within our market segments and, reflecting the high level of current opportunities, we expect the recent headcount growth to continue.
Meanwhile design and engineering consultancy WS Atkins ( ATK ) has reported half year results in line with expectations as revenues dipped by 3 per cent following the sale of its UK asset management arm last year. Underlying profits dipped by 5 per cent to £43.9m. The company admits the first half was ‘challenging’ in the US and Middle East but solid elsewhere and keeps full year expectations unchanged. Buy.
WS Atkins plc (ATK.L) announced its unaudited results for the six months ended 30 September 2012. On an as reported basis, profit before taxation increased to 50.4 million pounds from 44.2 million pounds last year. Profit after taxation increased to 41.5 million pounds from 34.9 million pounds prior year. Profit per share was 41.8 pence compared to 34.8 pence prior year. Revenue decreased to 815.7 million pounds from 842.9 million pounds last year. On an underlying basis, profit before taxation decreased to 43.9 million pounds from 46.4 million pounds prior year. Underlying profit per share was 34.9 pence compared to 36.2 pence prior year. The Group's Board has declared an interim dividend of 10.0 pence per share, representing an increase of 2.6% on last year. The interim dividend will be paid on 11 January 2013 to all shareholders on the register on 7 December 2012. Looking forward, the Group said, its view of the outlook for the full year remains unchanged. Commenting on the results, Uwe Krueger, chief executive officer, said: "The Group has delivered encouraging results in line with our expectations, with the sector and geographic spread of our business continuing to provide resilience in challenging markets. Implementation of our strategy continues and the outlook for the full year remains unchanged. We are pleased to be recruiting again and, in particular, are delighted to welcome over 500 graduates to the Group this autumn. We have been proud to be the official engineering design services provider to the London 2012 Olympic Games. This project leaves an important regeneration legacy in London and is proving to be a valuable reference for both business development and staff recruitment."
Engineer WS Atkins is struggling to fill 1,200 British vacancies in the face of stiff competition for talent and concerns that the country is failing to produce enough science graduates. The company, which designs and plans major projects such as the construction of the Olympic Stadium and the renovation of the Statue of Liberty, is recruiting as Chief Executive Uwe Krueger eyes new opportunities in energy, defence and aerospace markets. "It is an important sign that makes me optimistic about our UK business, which, please keep in mind, is also serving international clients," Mr Krueger said. Atkins is battling for workers in the oil-and-gas world, where demand in locations such as Houston, Texas, and Perth in Western Australia remains hot. Mr Krueger, who took the top job last year, added: "The other uncomfortable truth is that we are just not churning out enough talented young engineers at the moment, The Independent on Sunday writes.
sorry, my mistake a copy over from August