24th Sep 2015 06:43
LONDON (Alliance News) - Design, engineering and project management consultancy WS Atkins PLC on Thursday said its first half performance is set to be in line with its expectations and said its outlook for the full year remains optimistic.
Atkins, which will close out its first half at the end of September, said its UK transportation and water, ground and environment businesses are all expected to show an improvement in the first half, following challenging trading conditions a year earlier, while its aerospace business has secured some contract wins, but it has cut jobs in this division in the half.
Atkins has reorganised its structure in the UK and said this work is now complete and should deliver both revenue and margin improvements. Overall, it expects margin progression year-on-year in both its UK and Europe businesses.
The company said market conditions in North America remain stable, though its first-half performance will have taken a hit from investments the group has made in bidding activity as it looks to drive top-line growth.
Trading in the Middle East has been strong, with Atkins winning a number of design contracts in the half, while its Asia Pacific business performed in line with its expectations, despite a slowdown it had previously highlighted in China.
The group's energy business has seen good trading in its nuclear, power and renewables units, but its oil and gas business is facing pricing pressure owing to the tough conditions in the wider market, where operators are cutting spending plans and deferring projects amid the low oil price environment. Atkins said it is continuing to monitor the business closely and cut around 125 jobs from its UK and North American oil and gas operations in the first half.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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