13th Nov 2014 08:01
LONDON (Alliance News) - WS Atkins PLC on Thursday posted a big drop in pretax profit on a fall in revenue for the first half as the group was hit by the strength of sterling over the period, though it maintained its outlook for the full year.
The FTSE 250-listed design, engineering and project management consultancy said pretax profit in the six months to September 30 was GBP39 million, down 29% against the GBP54.8 million posted a year earlier. Revenue in the period was down 9.2% to GBP831.4 million from GBP915.4 million last year.
The company hiked its interim dividend by 4.8% to 11 pence per share from 10.5 pence for the first half of 2013.
Uwe Krueger, chief executive efficer, said the company's first half results were "good", despite the impact of the strength of sterling on its reported results. The Middle East and Energy arms of the company performed well, and he noted its underlying operating margin rose to 6.4%, up 90 basis points year-on-year.
The company said it has entered the second half with a robust order book in place, meaning it reiterated its guidance for the year.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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