LONDON (Alliance News) - WS Atkins PLC on Wednesday said it traded well in the fourth quarter of its financial year and expects to meet its expectations for the financial year to the end of March on an underlying basis.
The FTSE 250-listed engineering and design consultancy said its performance in the UK improved in the second half, following a mixed first half of the year. The company reached resolution on its contract variation negotiations in its rail business in the second half, which helped boost its regional cash performance in the period.
It has also completed the transition to a new operating structure in the UK, focused on four business units, with the implementation made effective from April 1.
Atkins said it expects a certain hiatus on decision-making by clients in the lead up to the general election in the UK, but is encouraged by the commitment made to infrastructure spending by all parties.
The company said its performance in North America improved in the second half too, with better productivity likely to give the division's margins a boost for the full year. It said it has a good pipeline in place in the unit.
In the Middle East, the division performed well in the second half, primarily due to significant rail and metro projects in the region. It also sees a good pipeline in place for the business.
Its Hong Kong and mainland China businesses both performed in line with expectations, though Atkins said the slowdown in China is expected to continue into the new year.
The company said its oil and gas, nuclear and power businesses all performed well in the second half, boosted by the acquisitions of Nuclear Safety Associates and Houston Offshore Engineering. But it said it continues to monitor the trading environment given the impact of low oil prices on the spending levels of its clients and intends to pro-actively adjust its resources in the energy business in order to reflect the anticipated activity levels.
Overall, the company said it expects to meet expectations for the year to the end of March on an underlying basis.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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