The next focusIR Investor Webinar takes places on 14th May with guest speakers from Blue Whale Growth Fund, Taseko Mines, Kavango Resources and CQS Natural Resources fund. Please register 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.
WS Atkins (LON:ATK) has secured two the signalling and power and distribution contracts for the Cardiff Area Signalling Renewal (CASR) project from Network Rail. The design and engineer provider will receive revenues of £64 million from the contracts, which will be delivered by 2015. Atkins will design, manage and implement the replacement of life-expired signalling and associated power and distribution equipment across 192 route miles of track between Newport and Port Talbot. The projects as a key part of Network Rail's investment to upgrade the signalling in the Cardiff and wider south Wales area. “This is another important success for our UK business and is a further sign of Network Rail's confidence in our rail team to help deliver high-profile and technically-complex signalling contracts,” said chief executive of Atkins Uwe Krueger.
despite someone picking up 205k they still drop. Is this just a tree shake before the 15th Nov reporting?
Atkins’ CEO Uwe Krueger delivers speech at Indonesia Investment Summit - 06 November 2012 Prof Dr Uwe Krueger, Atkins’ CEO, spoke today in Jakarta at the Indonesia Investment Summit: Beyond Investment Grade organised by the International Herald Tribune in partnership with BKPM, the Investment Coordinating Board of the Republic of Indonesia. The conference is aimed at highlighting recent updates in domestic policy and the trading and investment opportunities in the nation’s growth areas. Uwe focussed on opportunities for international investment in infrastructure development and highlighted Indonesia’s current infrastructure projects, with specific emphasis on the needs and the planning investment required to create the right environment for economic growth and development. Uwe told the delegates: “It’s clear from the conference that there are tremendous opportunities for infrastructure growth. The Government has the political will and 15 year economic development plan in place which demonstrates its commitment. This presents solid opportunities for the engineering design sector as the region moves forward to create its cities of the future.” He joined a panel with Bruno Dupety, Vice President and COO of Vinci Construction and Stuart Dean, CEO of GE ASEAN. Delegates included H E Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President of the Republic of Indonesia, H E Minister Gita Wirjawan, Minister of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia, and Bert Hofman, chief economist East Asia and Pacific, World Bank. Current Atkins projects in the region include the South Quarter in Jakarta, a mixed-use development designed by Atkins which is part of a masterplan. It is one of the most sustainable developments in Jakarta, with strategies embedded to cut energy use and conserve water.
Thanks to some one dropping off 152k shares.
Atkins wins five year USA Air Force Air Mobility Command contract - 26 October 2012 Atkins has been selected to provide architecture and engineering services for the USA’s Civil Engineering Operations Division of the Air Force’s Air Mobility Command Directorate of Installations and Missions Support. Headquartered at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois, USA, the US Air Force’s Air Mobility Command (AMC) oversees global air mobility operations, from worldwide cargo and passenger delivery to air refuelling, aero medical evacuation, and humanitarian supply transport. To support this important mission, Atkins has been awarded an indefinite delivery indefinite quantity (IDIQ) five year contract to provide architecture and engineering services for HQ AMC/A7O, the Civil Engineering Operations Division of the AMC’s Directorate of Installations and Mission Support. Marv Fisher, Atkins’ director of sales and strategy in North America said: “This is a great win for Atkins and a key contract in our company’s strategy to grow and strengthen our service offerings to the US Department of Defense. Our work in this area now extends to contracts in support of AMC, the Air Combat Command, and the National Guard Bureau." Atkins will provide architecture and engineering services for maintenance, renovation, repair, alteration, and/or construction projects at any of the AMC locations in the United States, Europe, Asia Pacific and North Africa. Atkins’ range of architecture and engineering services may include work on utility systems upgrades, pavement repairs, and airfield system repairs. Services may also involve conducting designs, studies, investigations, sampling, testing, or construction management for environmental and infrastructure projects. Atkins’ first assigned task is to provide engineering and environmental services to support the design and construction of a water transformation project at Travis Air Force Base in northern California. Atkins will analyse environmental and biological impacts of the proposed construction activities to the existing ecosystem at the project site and adjacent areas.
Panmure Gordon downgrades WS Atkins from buy to hold, target cut from 800p to 630p
My LARGE share buy this morning shows as a sell.
Prof Dr Uwe Krueger, Atkins' chief executive officer, said: "This is another important success for our UK business and is a further sign of Network Rail's confidence in our rail team to help deliver high-profile and technically-complex signalling contracts. "The signalling upgrade is fundamental to achieving the increased capacity and service improvements to meet demands in south Wales. We understand the engineering challenges a project of this nature poses and have mobilised the resources to provide the multidiscipline teams needed to overcome them and help Network Rail to grow and enhance this vital part of the country's infrastructure." The Cardiff area signalling renewal contracts follows an announcement earlier in the year that Atkins had been awarded two major signalling project frameworks for Sussex/Wessex and Kent/Anglia, worth in excess of £400m over a seven year period. Network Rail also confirmed in June that Atkins was a strategic partner for its new consulting business to pursue opportunities in international markets.
Atkins awarded two major contracts in Cardiff re-signalling scheme Network Rail has awarded Atkins the signalling and power and distribution contracts for the Cardiff Area Signalling Renewal (CASR) project. The contracts, which will be delivered by 2015, have a revenue for Atkins of £64 million and are a key part of Network Rail's investment to upgrade the signalling in the Cardiff and wider south Wales area. Under the two contracts, Atkins will design, manage and implement the replacement of life-expired signalling and associated power and distribution equipment across 192 route miles of track between Newport and Port Talbot, covering the Vale of Glamorgan and Valleys areas.
http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201208060700053197J
"The Middle East has seen delays in projects coming to market, constraining our anticipated headcount growth, and reaching client agreement on various contract variations. In addition, we continue to experience more onerous contract payment terms on some of our current government and infrastructure work. "Maintaining our focus on project selection and the close management of ongoing variation orders remains critical to our financial success in the region. We continue to forecast headcount growth across the region during the remainder of the financial year. "While the group's geographic and sector diversification continues to provide resilience, the outlook for the group's overall performance for the full year is slightly below previous expectations." It was by no means all bad news however, with the Asia Pacific and Europe business securing good contract wins in the period including projects on the third runway for the Hong Kong airport authority and the Lindingo tram line in Sweden. The UK region also had a good start to the year and is now mobilising resources in the rail business following the award of two signalling frameworks in January. It was also pleased that the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games are providing an "invaluable opportunity" for it to showcase its engineering design and planning skills.
Dr Uwe Krueger, the Chief Executive Officer of WS Atkins, the FTSE 250 design and engineering consultancy, doubled his stake in the company on the same day it was forced to issue a profit warning. Kruegar, who has occupied his role for one year, added another 10,000 shares to his previous holding of 10,053, at 673p each. The announcement was made after trading hours on Thursday. The warning, which knocked almost 10% off the firm's share price, was given after additional costs and a volume shortfall occurred in the Peter Brown construction management at risk business, which resulted in an increased loss for the current year. The firm also experienced difficulties in North America, which were further affected by a number of project delays as uncertainty increases ahead of the US presidential election in November. "We do not expect an improvement in the trading environment during the remainder of this financial year and, as a result, we have taken action to further reduce headcount to reflect anticipated market demand," the company said.
Dr Uwe Krueger, the Chief Executive Officer of WS Atkins, the FTSE 250 design and engineering consultancy, doubled his stake in the company on the same day it was forced to issue a profit warning. Kruegar, who has occupied his role for one year, added another 10,000 shares to his previous holding of 10,053, at 673p each. The announcement was made after trading hours on Thursday.
Credit Suisse downgrades Atkins (W S) from outperform to neutral, target price cut from 811p to 770p.
Isn't this doing well. Only stock in my portfillio making me money atm.
20/06/2012 ATK Atkins (WS) Panmure Gordon Buy 696.50p Target 860p Reiteration
15-Jun-12 Atkins (WS) ATK Numis Securities Add - target 810.00p Upgrade
Design and engineering consultancy group WS Atkins (ATK) said recently that full-year results would be in line with market expectations despite some headwinds. The group forecast an improvement in earnings in the current year, due largely to geographic and sector diversification. Even the UK region has ended the year well despite a delay in contract awards for the rail signalling business. However, the April update marked the immediate aftermath of the 2012 peak for the stock above 800p, so Atkins has everything to prove in the wake of the forthcoming finals.
Hi! A respected name from one of the BBs that I look in on... (don't ask me which, memory is failing). You seem to be doing a good job of keeping this BB alive, single-handedly. Bravo! Just got around to reading the Sunday Telegraph (of 15 April) which is pushing this one quite hard. Do you reckon that it is as promising as Questor maintains? Thanks.
Engineering consultancy and support services group WS Atkins has benefited from its toehold in the Middle East, while its UK operations appear to have stabilised. Last week, Atkins said it has "traded well" in the final quarter of the year so its full-year figures would be in line with expectations. At its UK operations, which account for about half of revenues, there was modest growth in its headcount in the second half of the year. This implies management has confidence that the business has turned a corner. Meanwhile, its North American consultancy, which generates about a quarter of revenues, has been sluggish, but margins are expected to have shown an improvement. Encouraging as well is the fact that the Middle East saw "strong market conditions". The company has focused on cash management and now has net cash of £120m, so the balance sheet is strong. The shares should be supported by the 4.1% yield, which rises to 4.3%. The current-year earnings multiple is just 8.4, falling to 8.1. First tipped at 727p on April 14 last year, the shares are essentially flat compared with a FTSE 100 down 5%. Questor says Buy.
If the health of a consultancy such as WS Atkins can be measured by the number of consultants it can afford to employ, and this is at least a crude measure of performance, then Atkins’ UK business is in good shape. The company added a modest 100 staff members in the second half, the first real growth since 2009. In North America however, where in 2010 Atkins bought the privately owned consultancy The PBSJ Corporation, the picture is more mixed, not helped by the relatively high numbers of public holidays in the third quarter. Further downsizing took place in the autumn; the private sector is spending on health and IT, but states and the federal government seem gridlocked and this could last until the November elections and beyond. On the other hand, Atkins has won the job of providing Qatar’s first central planning authority, although this does not preclude further significant work as preparations for the World Cup really get under way. The company´s share price has rallied sharply since the autumn but then come off a bit with the rest of the market. The shares, up 12p at 719½p last night, now sell on nine times’ earnings. The company´s stock is attractive at this level, but there is no obvious reason for any immediate outperformance, Tempus says.
Panmure Gordon reiterated its "buy" rating for WS Atkins (ATK), with an 860p target price. The broker expects the engineering consultant to have performed well since its half year results, noting improved margins in the US and significant room for growth in the Middle East. Panmure forecasts pre-tax profits of 108 million pounds for the 2012 financial year and the shares trade on a prospective multiple of 8.2 times for 2012, falling to 7.6 times in 2013. The broker also noted the dividend, which yields an attractive of 4.2%
Liberum Capital downgrades Atkins (WS) from buy to hold, target price raised from 775p to 850p.
Uwe Krueger, Atkins' chief executive said: "This is a notable win for our UK region and a credit to the excellent long term relationship that our rail business has built up with Network Rail. We pride ourselves on being an engineering partner that understands the challenge of maintaining one of the world's busiest and most complex rail networks and this new signalling programme is a critical element of that. "The contracts give us the opportunity to demonstrate the breadth and depth of our rail business' signalling expertise, sharing international best practice and innovation and delivering the management rigour that will bring value for money for one of the public sector's most important players. The move to longer term contracts will also allow us to plan with greater confidence and deliver further efficiencies for Network Rail as a result."
Atkins wins two Network Rail signalling renewal framework contracts Atkins has been announced as the preferred supplier for two of Network Rail's signalling renewal framework contracts. The contracts, for the Area 4A Anglia and Kent and Area 4B Sussex and Wessex regions will run for seven years and are a vital part of Network Rail's programme to maintain and modernise its signalling systems. Services provided by Atkins will include specialist signalling systems design, installation, testing and commissioning, and associated power, telecommunications and ancillary civil engineering. The contracts awarded to Atkins have a revenue potential of up to £400 million over seven years, starting from 2 April 2012.