Ann: Half Year Results Commentary , page-16

Camden et all,

Just to add the discussion and perhaps provide some context, I think investors need to appreciate how tough the market conditions have been for engineering consultancy firms. I work for a rival company (not in geosciences) but can advise that there is an industry wide work load crisis, with most firms having already implemented or are currently looking at major redundancies. So given that a) the half year result was steady (with only minor lay-offs) and b) the second half is expected to improve, speaks volumes that things are improving for COF. I am confident that this will translate to better margins and profits as the market improves.