ATK.L Regulatory News (ATK)

Pre-Close Trading Update

WS Atkins plc ("Atkins" or the "Group"), the design and engineering consultancy group, today provides an update on trading in advance of its half-year results for the six months to 30 September 2012 which will be announced on 15 November 2012.

The Group's performance in the second quarter has been consistent with the outlook given at the time of its Interim Management Statement on 1 August 2012.

The good start to the year in our UK business has continued, with a modest increase in overall headcount in the year to date. Following the successful completion of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games we are commencing work on the legacy infrastructure.

Our consultancy business in North America continues to experience weak market conditions and we have taken further action in the first half of the year to reduce costs and right-size our resources in the region. We are making progress on the close out of legacy contracts in the Peter Brown construction management at risk business.

As noted previously, our first half performance in the Middle East will reflect project delays and lengthy contract variation negotiations, together with an increased working capital requirement across the region.

Asia Pacific and Europe is trading in line with expectations and Scandinavia in particular has performed well in the first half.

Our Energy business continues to trade well in buoyant markets across all sectors. In the UK nuclear market, our new partnership with Areva puts us in a strong position to target decommissioning, waste management and clean up opportunities.

Group headcount has increased during the year to date to around 17,700, up from 17,420 at the end of March, with notable growth in the Energy division.

Outlook

Overall, the outlook for the Group for the year remains unchanged and in line with our previous expectations at the time of the Interim Management Statement on 1 August.

Ends

Enquiries

Notes to editors

1. Atkins

Atkins (www.atkinsglobal.com) is one of the world's leading engineering and design consultancies*, employing some 17,700 people across the UK, North America, Middle East, Asia Pacific and Europe. It has the breadth and depth of expertise to plan, design and enable some of the world's most technically challenging and time critical infrastructure projects.

*It is the largest engineering consultancy in the UK (New Civil Engineer Consultants File 2012) and the 14th largest global design firm (Engineering News-Record 2012).

Atkins is the official engineering design services provider for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

2. Analyst Conference Call

A conference call for analysts will be held at 0800 hours today. Dial-in details are available from Scott Fulton at Smithfield +44 (0) 20 7903 0641.

3. Cautionary Statement

This information has been prepared for the shareholders of Atkins as a whole and its sole purpose and use is to assist shareholders to exercise their governance rights. In particular, this news release has not been audited or otherwise independently verified and no warranty is given as to its accuracy or completeness (other than any such warranty which is mandatorily implied by statute). Atkins and its directors and employees are not responsible for any other purpose or use or to any other person in relation to this announcement and their responsibility to shareholders shall be limited to that which is imposed by statute.

This announcement contains indications of likely future developments and other forward looking statements that are subject to risk factors associated with, among other things, the economic and business circumstances occurring from time to time in the countries, sectors and business segments in which the Group operates. These and other factors could adversely affect the Group's results, strategy and prospects. Forward looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. They relate to events and/or depend on circumstances in the future which could cause actual results and outcomes to differ materially from those currently expected. No obligation is assumed to update any forward looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.