QinetiQ Full Year Results 2026

QinetiQ Group plc

21 May 2026

 

FY26 Full Year Results - 21 May 2026

Record order intake and £4.8bn1 backlog provide strong visibility for FY27 revenue growth and beyond Free cash flow of >£550m over FY27-29 driving increased shareholder returns Dividend increased 24%; £200m share buyback extension

Steve Wadey, Group Chief Executive Officer, said: "We have delivered a resilient performance in more challenging markets, with organic revenue growth, margin expansion and strong cash generation driven by disciplined execution and restructuring. Our record order intake and £4.8bn¹ backlog provide clear visibility of sustainable growth and strong multi-year cash flows. Aligned to structural growth in global defence investment, we are a trusted partner delivering mission‑critical capabilities, well positioned to drive higher‑quality earnings and attractive, sustainable shareholder returns."

FY26 results	Underlying*			Statutory
£ million	FY26	FY25	Change	FY26	FY25
Order intake2	3,573	1,955	+83%
Funded order backlog	4,421	2,845	+55%
Revenue	1,923	1,932	0%	1,923	1,932
Operating profit (loss)3	218	185	+18%	170	(91)
Operating profit margin3	11.3%	9.6%	+170bps	8.8%	(4.6%)
Profit (loss) before tax3	230	199	+16%	155	(106)
Basic earnings per share	31.5p	26.1p	+21%	20.1p	(33.0p)
Free cash flow	159	113	+41%
Net debt	159	133	+20%
Dividend per share	11.00p	8.85p	+24%
Share buyback spend	135	103	+31%
Return on capital employed	34%	22%	+12ppts

Resilient financial performance in challenging markets

·    Record order intake of £3,573m2 (book-to-bill 1.14x4) and record year-end backlog of £4.8bn1

·    Revenue increased 1.3% on an organic basis driven by a good UK performance

·    Underlying operating profit* grew 18% to £218m benefiting from focused execution and right-sizing actions

·    Margin 11.3% (+170bps), returned to the target range

·    EPS grew 21% to 31.5p, strong free cash flow of £159m (+41%), leverage 0.5x (net debt/EBITDA) unchanged

·    24% increase in full year dividend; new payout ratio target of 35-40% of underlying earnings per share

·    £200m share buyback extension of £100m p.a. through FY29

Foundations set for sustainable growth

·    £1.7bn LTPA extension to 2033, transforming the UK's defence testing capabilities for future warfare

·    £205m five-year contract delivering critical engineering services for Typhoon

·    US business stabilised; driving organic growth and assessing strategic fit; all options under active review

FY27 outlook

·    Revenue growth 3-5% and operating margin 11.0-11.5%

·    EPS growth 8-10% with cash conversion >90%

·    >£550m of free cash flow targeted over FY27-29

To view the preliminary results document in full, please click on, or paste the following link into your web browser http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/1743F_1-2026-5-20.pdf. The preliminary results are also available in full on QinetiQ’s website.

The preliminary results for the year ended 31 March 2026 have been submitted in full unedited text to the Financial Conduct Authority's National Storage Mechanism and will be available shortly for inspection at https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism.

Analyst presentation

Management will host a presentation at 09:30 hours BST on Thursday 21 May 2026. To register to join the live webcast, please see details on our website here: www.qinetiq.com/en/investors/results-reports-and-presentations/fy26-prelim-results

Dividend declaration

The Board proposes a final FY26 dividend per share of 8.00p (FY25: 6.05p) making the full-year dividend 11.00p (FY25: 8.85p). Subject to approval at the Annual General Meeting, the final FY26 dividend will be paid on 20 August 2026 to shareholders on the register on 24 July 2026. The ex-dividend date is 23 July 2026.

The dividend is conditional upon the Directors not having determined (at their discretion) to cancel the dividend at any point prior to its payment.

This announcement contains regulated information as per Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rule (DTR) 6.3.

Share buyback programme

We will return further value to shareholders through an additional £200 million extension to our existing share buyback programme, over 2 years commencing in March 2027, when we complete our current buyback commitment.  The £200 million extension is in addition to our existing share buyback programme, which commenced in February 2024 and which totals £250 million up to March 2027, comprised of our original £100 million share buyback that we announced in January 2024, the subsequent £50 million extension announced in November 2024, and the further £200 million extension announced in March 2025 which we are in the process of executing.  Since the commencement of the buyback programme in February 2024 we have purchased c.61 million shares in total, with an aggregate purchase price of c.£268.1 million, up to 18 May 2026.  We will complete the remaining c.£81.9 million of the current buyback commitment by the end of our FY27 financial year and then commence the additional £200 million announced today.

About QinetiQ

QinetiQ is a leading provider of mission-critical defence and security solutions to the UK and its allies, protecting lives by supporting national security priorities. Our innovative research and development, specialist engineering expertise, unique test and training facilities and mission support and operations capabilities deliver sustained warfighting readiness and operational advantage. QinetiQ employs c.7,500 highly skilled people.

For further information please contact: 

Andrew Carter, Group Investor Relations Director:	[phone]
Stephanie Mann, Group Head of Media Relations:	[phone]

* Definitions of the Group's 'Alternative Performance Measures' can be found in the glossary

¹ Includes funded and unfunded backlog

² Order intake here includes the LTPA extension award of £1,543m plus £166m relating to current investments. Order intake excluding the LTPA was £1,860m

³ Underlying operating profit, operating profit margin and profit (loss) before tax refer to profit from segments and exclude 'specific adjusting items'. See note 2

⁴ Book-to-bill ratio is orders won divided by revenue recognized, excluding LTPA orders of £1,709m (FY25 £0m) and LTPA revenue of £294m (FY25 £270m)

Basis of preparation:

Throughout this presentation, certain measures are used to describe the Group's financial performance, which are not recognised under IFRS or other generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). The Group's Directors and management assess financial performance based on underlying measures of performance, which are adjusted to exclude certain 'specific adjusting items'. In the judgement of the Directors, the use of alternative performance measures (APMs) such as underlying operating profit and underlying earnings per share are more representative of ongoing trading, facilitate meaningful year-to-year comparison and, therefore, allow the reader to obtain a fuller understanding of the financial information. The adjusted measures used by QinetiQ may differ from adjusted measures used by other companies. Details of QinetiQ's APMs are set out in the glossary to the presentation.

Year references (FY26, FY25, 2026, 2025) refer to the year ended 31 March.

Disclaimer:

This document contains certain forward-looking statements relating to the business, strategy, financial performance and results of the Company and/or the industry in which it operates. Actual results, levels of activity, performance, achievements and events are most likely to vary materially from those implied by the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements concern future circumstances and results and other statements that are not historical facts, sometimes identified by the words 'believes',' expects', 'predicts', 'intends', 'projects', 'plans', 'estimates', 'aims', 'foresees', 'anticipates', 'targets', 'goals', 'due', 'could', 'may', 'should', 'potential', 'likely' and similar expressions, although these words are not the exclusive means of doing so. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the Company's future financial position, income growth, impairment charges, business strategy, projected levels of growth in the relevant markets, projected costs, estimates of capital expenditures, and plans and objectives for future operations. Forward-looking statements contained in this announcement regarding past trends or activities should not be taken as a representation that such trends or activities will continue in the future. Nothing in this document should be regarded as a profit forecast. The forward-looking statements, including assumptions, opinions and views of the Company or cited from third party sources, contained in this announcement are solely opinions and forecasts which are uncertain and subject to risks. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these expectations will prove to be correct. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. A number of factors could cause actual events to differ significantly and these are set out in the principal risks and uncertainties section of this document. Most of these factors are difficult to predict accurately and are generally beyond the control of the Company. Any forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of, the Company speak only as of the date they are made. Save as required by applicable law, the Company will not publicly release the results of any revisions to any forward-looking statements in this document that may occur due to any change in the Directors' expectations or to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this document. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to either QinetiQ Group plc or to persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements referred to in this disclaimer and contained elsewhere in this document. QinetiQ Group plc and its directors accept no liability to third parties in respect of this document save as would arise under English law. Accordingly, any liability to a person who has demonstrated reliance on any untrue or misleading statement or omission shall be determined in accordance with Schedule 10A of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. It should be noted that Schedule 10A and Section 463 of the Companies Act 2006 contain limits on the liability of the directors of QinetiQ Group plc so that their liability is solely to QinetiQ Group plc.

 

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