uccessful debt recovery and a move into infrastructure work helped to drive profits up by 70 per cent for the Middle East operations of WS Atkins, the UK engineering consultancy.
Operating profit accelerated to £23.8 million (Dh140.9m) in the financial year ending March 31, up from £14m in the same period last year, the company said yesterday.
"These are a strong set of results which show our strategy is working," said Richard Barrett, the regional managing director. "We've successfully diversified the business in recent years from being entirely property focused into broader infrastructure, transportation and planning services."
Reduced activity in the property market meant the company shed 16.7 per cent of its staff during the year, cutting its headcount from 1,867 to 1,555, Atkins said. It also transferred about 100 of its staff to its energy sector.
Staff numbers had now "stabilised" and Atkins was actively recruiting once again to support growth in key markets and sectors, said Mr Barrett.
The company is increasingly moving away from its focus on Dubai building design to serve a broader infrastructure market. It is positioning itself to secure more airport, rail, defence, planning and management consultancy work, Atkins said. Infrastructure, planning and consultancy currently represent 69 per cent of the company's order book.
Atkins has been involved in some of the UAE's largest projects including the Dubai Metro - both its red and green lines - and the 1,300km Etihad Rail project in Abu Dhabi,intended to become a key link in the country's goods distribution network.
Atkins has been expanding its footprint regionally, with 64 per cent of its order book outside the UAE. It is the lead designer and programme manager for a new 30 million passenger-capacity terminal at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah.
The company is confident about growth prospects for next year. Its order book as of March 31 included a total of 89 per cent of budgeted revenue for the current financial year. Although political unrest in parts of the region could interrupt its business, to date the instability had only had a minor impact on its Bahrain business.
Globally, operating profit rose 7.5 per to £118.7m.
[ tarnold@thenational.ae ]
ROUTE TO TITLE
Round 1: Beat Leolia Jeanjean 6-1, 6-2
Round 2: Beat Naomi Osaka 7-6, 1-6, 7-5
Round 3: Beat Marie Bouzkova 6-4, 6-2
Round 4: Beat Anastasia Potapova 6-0, 6-0
Quarter-final: Beat Marketa Vondrousova 6-0, 6-2
Semi-final: Beat Coco Gauff 6-2, 6-4
Final: Beat Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-2
Company profile
Name: Fruitful Day
Founders: Marie-Christine Luijckx, Lyla Dalal AlRawi, Lindsey Fournie
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2015
Number of employees: 30
Sector: F&B
Funding so far: Dh3 million
Future funding plans: None at present
Future markets: Saudi Arabia, potentially Kuwait and other GCC countries
Pakistan v New Zealand Test series
Pakistan: Sarfraz (c), Hafeez, Imam, Azhar, Sohail, Shafiq, Azam, Saad, Yasir, Asif, Abbas, Hassan, Afridi, Ashraf, Hamza
New Zealand: Williamson (c), Blundell, Boult, De Grandhomme, Henry, Latham, Nicholls, Ajaz, Raval, Sodhi, Somerville, Southee, Taylor, Wagner
Umpires: Bruce Oxerford (AUS) and Ian Gould (ENG); TV umpire: Paul Reiffel (AUS); Match referee: David Boon (AUS)
Tickets and schedule: Entry is free for all spectators. Gates open at 9am. Play commences at 10am
CABINET OF CURIOSITIES EPISODE 1: LOT 36
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Stars: Tim Blake Nelson, Sebastian Roche, Elpidia Carrillo
Rating: 4/5
Country-size land deals
US interest in purchasing territory is not as outlandish as it sounds. Here's a look at some big land transactions between nations:
Louisiana Purchase
If Donald Trump is one who aims to broker "a deal of the century", then this was the "deal of the 19th Century". In 1803, the US nearly doubled in size when it bought 2,140,000 square kilometres from France for $15 million.
Florida Purchase Treaty
The US courted Spain for Florida for years. Spain eventually realised its burden in holding on to the territory and in 1819 effectively ceded it to America in a wider border treaty.
Alaska purchase
America's spending spree continued in 1867 when it acquired 1,518,800 km2 of Alaskan land from Russia for $7.2m. Critics panned the government for buying "useless land".
The Philippines
At the end of the Spanish-American War, a provision in the 1898 Treaty of Paris saw Spain surrender the Philippines for a payment of $20 million.
US Virgin Islands
It's not like a US president has never reached a deal with Denmark before. In 1917 the US purchased the Danish West Indies for $25m and renamed them the US Virgin Islands.
Gwadar
The most recent sovereign land purchase was in 1958 when Pakistan bought the southwestern port of Gwadar from Oman for 5.5bn Pakistan rupees.
1971: The Year The Music Changed Everything
Director: Asif Kapadia
4/5
The Way It Was: My Life with Frank Sinatra by Eliot Weisman and Jennifer Valoppi
Hachette Books
MATCH INFO
Newcastle United 2 (Willems 25', Shelvey 88')
Manchester City 2 (Sterling 22', De Bruyne 82')
TWISTERS
Director:+Lee+Isaac+Chung
Starring:+Glen+Powell,+Daisy+Edgar-Jones,+Anthony+Ramos
Rating:+2.5/5