WS Atkins looks well placed to benefit from the increased infrastructure spending outlined in the government's autumn statement. In a third-quarter trading statement, the design and engineering consultancy group revealed that business in the UK is holding up well and projects that have previously suffered delays are finally coming through, such as two rail service contracts announced in January.
Overseas, the Middle Eastern business continues to grow and has benefited from two major contracts wins in Qatar. Although the North American consultancy had a slow start to the seasonally-weaker second half of the year, it is now trading in line with internal budgets. The company also retains a strong balance sheet with net cash set to exceed £100m, or 96p a share, by the March year-end.
