WS Atkins, the UK-based engineering consultancy, has revealed that a pick-up in construction activity in the Middle East contributed to its strong fourth quarter results.
In a trading statement yesterday, the company said that it now anticipates results for the year ending 31 March 2011 to be ahead of current market expectations.
The company said: “The Group's operations in the Middle East have benefited from increasing activity in the second half of the year, together with further recovery of client payments against which we had previously provided.”
The statement went on to say that a sustained focus on cash was expected to result in net funds at 31 March 2011 in excess of £120 million.
Projects on which Atkins is currently working in the Middle East include the Etihad railway and Jeddah airport. The company is also said to be bidding for a rail contract in Qatar.
Headquartered in Surrey, the UK, Atkins plans, designs and enables the delivery of infrastructure and buildings for clients in the public and private sectors worldwide. The company is the largest engineering consultancy in the UK and the world's eleventh largest international design firm.
In 2009 Atkins was appointed as the official engineering design services provider for the London 2012 Olympic Games.
