Many growing and high-profit architectural and engineering (A/E) firms continue to experience solid financial performance, even during a tough economy, according a report recently released by Natick-based consulting firm ZweigWhite.

"The successful firms profiled here are financially strong firms," says. Christine Brack, principal, ZweigWhite Strategic Advisory Services. "In 2009, they realized net pre-tax, pre-bonus profits on net service revenue around 13.9 percent. When analyzed on a per-employee basis, net service revenue runs about $151,000 for technical and professional staff."

The survey also found that growing firms reported a median pre-tax, pre-bonus profit/loss per technical and professional staff of $19,279, while for high-profit firms, the median reaches a high of $22,212. In comparison, the median for the overall firm sample is $12,101.