16th Jun 2016 06:26
LONDON (Alliance News) - Design, engineering and project management consultancy WS Atkins PLC on Thursday posted a 23% rise in pretax profit for its financial year, which it said was ahead of market expectations despite continuing uncertainty in some of its markets.
WS Atkins posted pretax profit of GBP131.1 million for the year ended March 31, up from GBP106.7 million the year earlier, on the back of a 6.0% rise in revenue to GBP1.86 billion from GBP1.76 billion. The company posted underlying diluted earnings per share of 107.3 pence, up 11% from the 97.1p reported the year earlier.
The FTSE 250-listed company said its UK and Europe business delivered "very good results", with a strong performance across all its UK businesses except its aerospace company, which saw a slow start to the year. WS Atkins said the infrastructure market in the UK for rail, road and water projects remained "well funded" and investment continued to "enjoy government support".
WS Atkins said the year had been "transformational" for its US division, with a portfolio shift towards larger projects and programmes, and the Middle East division delivered a good performance driven by its Central Planning Office project in Qatar. However, the company noted that the region had come under increased liquidity pressure as a result of the current low oil price.
Profitability and cash flow performance in Asia Pacific were impacted by delays to the start of a number of key opportunities and receipts from clients beyond agreed contract terms, WS Atkins said, adding that it welcomed the Chinese government's programme of anti-corruption measures to slow down the release and award of projects.
WS Atkins added that it had a "mixed year" in its energy division, with a good performance in its nuclear, power and renewables businesses but challenges in most of its oil and gas markets, with the exception of the Middle East.
WS Atkins said it was offering a dividend for the year of 39.5p per share, up 8.3% from the 36.5p per share offered a year earlier..
The company noted that it has a healthy pipeline of opportunities in the UK, particularly in the infrastructure markets, whilst its ore markets in Scandinavia remain well funded, supported by government commitments.
In North America, WS Atkins said its workload is underpinned by two significant transportation wins and noted that the five-year transportation bill in the US should provide greater pipeline visibility, although said it does "not expect to see any material impact until after the presidential election".
"We are delighted to have achieved our 8% operating margin target against headwinds in certain markets. These are good results with strong growth in profitability and underlying diluted earnings per share. Overall, we remain confident for the year ahead despite continued uncertainty in some of our markets," said Chairman Allan Cook.
By Hannah Boland; [email protected]; @Hannaheboland
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