Turnover was up slightly at £713.3m from £706.9m as growth in other sectors compensated for a drop in work on the transport side.

The firm said: “In Transport & Infrastructure most of our activities in the UK, in particular the roads market, have been very subdued whilst in the US momentum in our roads and bridges market has strengthened significantly after a slow start to the year.

“In the UK our rail sector activities have expanded considerably with more appointments for both Crossrail and Network Rail.”

WSP pared-down its UK road division last summer and the cost of restructuring across the whole group hit £3.8m last year.

UK transport revenue fell 12% to £73.2m while the number of staff fell to 643 from 806.

Chairman Ian Barlow said: “We expect market conditions to remain unchanged and our task is to exploit our global reach to deliver growth and to continue to drive more efficient margins and better cash generation.

“We have repositioned our strategy, retaining its five pillars but recognising the reality of tighter markets since it was launched in 2010.

“This provides the basis for the Group to improve its performance and grow organically although we remain alert to corporate opportunities.”