"The group's order book is strong and we remain confident that the group will make good progress in 2008/09," said the company, " it announced in a statement today.

Atkins' design and engineering solutions segment has continued to perform well although margins have been slightly impacted by the integration costs associated with the acquisition of Advantage and Nedtech.

Performance in the rail business has significantly improved, despite the reduced activity for Metronet, while the highways and transportation segment has also performed well.