Recent wins for global engineering consultant include £80m road and drainage contract in Qatar

Engineering consultant Hyder is to take on more staff after winning a string of new contracts since September.

The firm said it anticipated a growth in staff in the second half of the financial year following a slight fall in headcount in the six months to 30 September 2011.

Recent contract wins included £80m contract in Doha to provide consultancy and engineering services for roads and drainage in the northern part of the City.

The five-year General Engineering Consultancy Contract for Doha North was awarded by Ashghal, the authority responsible for public works in Qatar.

Chief executive Ivor Catto said: “Given the global economic climate, I’m pleased to report that results are in line with plan. We have targeted our clients and project opportunities carefully and have recently won a number of important projects across each of the regions, which gives us good forward visibility.”

“Along with our broad market spread and net cash position, this visibility gives us confidence for the full year.”

Profit before tax for the period excluding exceptional items was up £9.4m down from £10.6m in the same period last year. Turnover slipped from £149.9m to £139.3m, but Hyder said the results were in line with expectations.

Before securing these contracts Hyder’s order book was £291m at 30 September 2011 (31 March 2011: £312m).