Qinetiq makes 'good start' to trading year

Defence technology company Qinetiq said on Wednesday that it had made "a good start" to the new financial year.

Qinetiq stated orders, revenue, profit and cash were all in line with expectations, with visibility on revenue under contract for the 2022 financial year increasing from £800.0m to £940.0m as the group continues to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

As a result, Qinetiq said it remains confident of delivering full-year results in line with expectations, with mid-single-digit organic revenue growth at an 11% to 12% operating profit margin, rising to a 12% to 13% operating profit margin in the medium-term.

The FTSE 250-listed firm also stated it had seen "a strong start to the year" in its EMEA Services unit, with continued "good order intake" in its cyber and information business and strong revenue growth in the group's maritime and land division. However, it noted this had been "partially offset" by a slower quarter for its global products wing due to lower year-end backlog.

As of 0955 BST, Qinetiq shares were up 0.59% at 343.60p.