British engineering and construction firm WS Atkins posted a fall in full-year profit as moves to plug a gap in its pension plan compounded the impact of falling revenues and undermined efforts to cut costs, according to Reuters. The company, which helps design big building projects such as London's 2012 Olympic site, said adjusted pretax profit fell 3.7 percent to 96.5 million pounds ($141.5 million) in the year to the end of March as net finance costs jumped five-fold. "We've got a pension deficit which drives a finance cost throughout the year ... the increased pension costs have meant normalised profit before taxation is down," Heath Drewett, group finance director, told reporters during a conference call. The company also warned that uncertainty over the impact of UK public spending cuts continued after revenue fell 6.7 percent to 1.39 billion pounds. "We are prepared for a period of tighter government spending," the company said after cutting staff numbers by 8.7 percent last year, helping cut costs and boost operating profit by 9.6 percent to 113 million pounds. Shares in Atkins were down 3.99 percent at 697 pence by 0843 GMT. "The group has put in a very creditable performance over the last 18-months given the challenging backdrop," analysts at brokerage WH Ireland said in a note. "However, whilst we acknowledge the underlying quality of the business, the likelihood of further volume/pricing pressure remains and we believe the shares are fully valued at present levels," the note added. Analysts at KBC Peel Hunt said management at Atkins had "clearly delivered" given the tough environment but that with shares trading close to highs not seen in more than a year, they were cutting their rating to "hold" from "buy". Caution about government plans to slash spending echoed comments from British equipment hire company Ashtead which posted full-year results on Thursday. "We've been operating for 18 months now in a tough economic environment in the UK and some overseas markets, we see the outlook for the UK remaining tough and challenging," Drewett said.
