A confident set of results from engineering consultancy WS Atkins (ATK) nudged the shares up 2 per cent, taking their gain over the last year to an impressive 103 per cent. Reported pre-tax profit rose 15 per cent to £54.8m but that included an £11.1m profit from selling its UK highways services business. On an underlying basis, pre-tax profit rose by a still commendable 8 per cent to £44.7m, with EPS up 9 per cent to 35.9p.
Management said the positive momentum has carried on into the second half and that the outlook for the full year is now slightly ahead of previous expectations. Accordingly, analysts at broker Peel Hunt raised their full-year forecast for adjusted pre-tax profit by 2 per cent to £104.2m, giving EPS of 83.3p.
Finance director Heath Drewett says the strong performance was driven by the UK, which, accounting for around half of group profits, remains Atkins' "engine of growth". The UK business is benefiting from a thriving infrastructure sector as the government's recent Comprehensive Spending Review sparks an uptick in spending on infrastructure projects such as road improvements. North America also turned in a solid performance. Management says there wasn't a big impact from the US federal government shutdown during the first half, but there have been delays to some projects and it is watching events closely.
WS ATKINS (ATK) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 1,284p | MARKET VALUE: | £1.29bn | |
| TOUCH: | 1,285-1,290p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 1,272p | LOW: 632p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.5% | PE RATIO: | 14 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 101p* | NET CASH: | £136.1m | |
| Half-year to 30 Sep | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 816 | 47.8 | 40.7 | 10.0 |
| 2013 | 915 | 54.8 | 48.4 | 10.5 |
| % change | +12 | +15 | +19 | +5 |
Ex-div: 4 Dec Payment: 10 Jan *Includes intangible assets of £239m, or 239p a share | ||||
