THE UK's largest engineering consultants is to take on 25 more staff in the North-East, after celebrating a strong rise in profits.

Atkins, which employs 350 workers across the region, saw pre-tax profits leap 31 per cent from £56.2m to £73.6m.

The jump came despite turnover remaining level at £1.1bn, and in the face of a slowdown in its key rail market.

Richard Hall, executive director of Atkins and managing director of Faithful & Gould, said: "The group has had a cracking year, almost right across the board.

"The increased profit has all been delivered by improved margins."

Atkins, based in Epsom, Surrey, employs about 15,000 staff. This includes about 250 in Stockton, which is also the headquarters of its project and cost management subsidiary, Faithful & Gould.

The Teesside design services team has recently been appointed to work on a multi-million pound project in the African country of Liberia.

Faithful & Gould is also part of a consortium providing project services for the new college at Bishop Auckland, County Durham, and is involved in a PFI scheme for the new Freeman and RVI hospitals in Newcastle.

It is also providing construction management services on a residential scheme in Dubai.

The group said its overall order book was strong, with about 57 per cent of budgeted turnover for 2006 in hand at the start of the new financial year.

Its rail division, based in York, saw a downturn after Network Rail suspended a large amount of capital works, as it reviewed its operations.

Mr Hall said this would pick up, as Network Rail still has to spend the money at some point.

It employs a handful of staff in Sunderland, working with regeneration agency Sunderland Arc, and has 100 staff in Newcastle.

Its Tyneside business has proved such a success that the company has been forced to ship its design team out of the main office on Newcastle Business Park and into Grey Street.

Mr Hall said the company preferred to co-locate all its divisions and was looking at moving to another site.

Recent contract wins include providing design services on a range of buildings for Durham University, to celebrate its 175th anniversary.

Faithful & Gould has also been retained by Silverlink Property Developers for the Stephenson Quarter regeneration scheme in Newcastle city centre.

Atkins is recruiting 25 staff in the region, from civil engineers to architects, and investing in technology.

Mr Hall said: "By raising the bar, we make it more and more difficult for other companies to get near us.

"With ongoing investment in the recruitment of high calibre staff I see no reason why this growth trend should not continue into the future."

The plc increased its dividend to 12p from 0.9p.