News
release
QinetiQ Group
plc
Fourth Quarter Trading
Update
16
April 2024 - QinetiQ Group plc
("QinetiQ" or the "Group") today issues a trading update covering
its fourth quarter to 31 March 2024.
On-track to deliver FY24 expectations
The Group has delivered good
operational performance during the fourth quarter, with continued
strong organic revenue growth and stable operating profit margin.
As a result, we expect our results for the full year to 31 March
2024 to be in line with current market expectations[1].
Order intake for the year has been
excellent at more than £1.7bn achieving a book-to-bill of 1.1x,
demonstrating the continued high demand for our distinctive
offerings. Cash performance in the second half has been
particularly strong resulting in cash conversion of more than 100%
for the full year, supporting our disciplined capital allocation
policy focused on enhancing shareholder returns. The £100m share
buyback programme announced in January 2024 is progressing well
with 6 million shares purchased to-date at a cost of £22
million.
Throughout the fourth quarter we
have seen a continuation of the trends identified in our Interim
Results and Q3 Trading Update across each of our reporting segments
- EMEA Services has performed particularly well with strong revenue
growth offsetting lower Global Solutions revenue growth.
Stronger performance in EMEA Services
EMEA Services has delivered
excellent revenue growth in FY24, due to successful programme
execution of strong order intake and backlog from the prior year,
and our large long-term contracts of Engineering Delivery Partner
(EDP) and Weapons Sector Research Framework (WSRF) performing
particularly well.
Slower growth in Global Solutions
Global Solutions continued to be
impacted by difficult market conditions in the US. As a
consequence, Avantus achieved modest revenue growth in the second
half compared to the first half. However, the business delivered
double digit operating profit margin and strong cash conversion of
circa 100%. We are also pleased that the business secured $977m of
total contract awards during the year, achieving a funded
book-to-bill of 1.2x, with major programme wins aligned to national
defence and security priorities. This provides good revenue
visibility for FY25 and underpins our continued confidence in the
medium and long-term outlook for the business.
Expecting FY25 to be another strong year of
growth
Looking forward, we expect FY25 to
be another strong year at Group level and we remain on-track to
deliver in line with our longer-term guidance. The trends that we
have seen in FY24 are expected to continue into next year, with
stronger growth in EMEA Services and stable performance in Global
Solutions in FY25.
Steve Wadey, Group Chief Executive
Officer said:
"During the fourth quarter we have
continued to deliver against our strategy and driven good revenue
growth and stable operating profit margin. We have had a
particularly strong period in EMEA Services, thanks to excellent
contract delivery across our programmes, and we expect further
strong growth in this segment. The performance of Global Solutions
has been impacted by ongoing market conditions in the US. However,
the strong order intake in Avantus provides confidence in our
platform for future growth.
With a clear focus on disciplined
execution of our strategy, high demand for our distinctive
offerings and the good progress we have made this year, we have a
robust plan to deliver long-term sustainable growth and compelling
value for our shareholders."
FY24 Preliminary Results
QinetiQ will publish its full
Preliminary Results on Thursday 23 May 2024. We will be hosting an
in-person results presentation at 09:30 BST at the London Stock
Exchange, 10 Paternoster Square, London, EC4M 7LS. To register to
join in-person or via the live webcast:
https://www.qinetiq.com/en/investors/results-reports-and-presentations/fy24-prelim-results
About QinetiQ
QinetiQ is an integrated global
defence and security company focused on mission-led innovation.
QinetiQ employs circa 8,500 highly-skilled people, committed to
creating new ways of protecting what matters most; testing
technologies, systems, and processes to make sure they meet
operational needs; and enabling customers to deploy new and
enhanced capabilities with the assurance they will deliver the
performance required.
For
further information please contact:
John Haworth, Group Director
Investor Relations:
+44 (0) 7920 545841
Lindsay Walls, Group Director
Communications (Media
enquiries)
+44 (0) 7793 427582