WS Atkins, engineering consultancy firm, has said that it has recorded higher than expected earnings for the entire financial year 2012-2013.

The company, which is listed on the FTSE 250, said that its pre-tax profits rose 2.9 per cent to £104.5 million during the financial year 2012-2013. Analysts were expected the company to record profits of about £102 million for the year. The company recorded strong performance in the UK as its revenues rose 4.7 per cent and its operating profit rose 9.7 per cent mainly due to its involvement in the London Olympic Games.

Uwe Krueger, chief executive expressed satisfaction over the UK performance and indicated that the company is expecting high growth in Asia. WS Atkins has established a strong presence Honk Honk and might be looking at new acquisitions in the region.

"Our strategy so far has been focused on organic growth. However, we have strengthened our balance sheet and increased our fire power, so if the right opportunity comes up we may be interested. It would most likely be a bolt-on acquisition in Asia, in a core area of the company such as energy," he said.