12th Nov 2020 10:52
(Alliance News) - Qinetiq Group PLC on Thursday posted a rise in earnings for the first half of financial 2021, forecasting full-year results ahead of previous expectations.
Shares in the FTSE 250-listed defence technology firm were trading 6.7% higher at 310.49 pence each on Thursday morning in London.
For the six months ended September 30, Qinetiq posted pretax profit of GBP83.7 million, up 17% from GBP71.3 million recorded a year prior. This was as revenue rose 24% year-on-year to GBP603.2 million from GBP486.5 million.
The Farnborough-based company credited the revenue growth to an increase of income in EMEA Services, which was driven by new work delivered under the Engineering Delivery Partner procurement programme in the UK and a major service provider contract in Australia.
The Engineering Delivery Partner programme is the default procurement route for engineering services for the Defence Equipment & Support arm of the UK Ministry of Defence.
An interim dividend of 2.2p was declared, unchanged from the year prior.
Looking ahead, Chief Executive Steve Wadey said: "We are entering the second half with confidence, with a significant order backlog, strong customer focus and an evolved strategy reflecting the increasing ambition of the group and changing customer needs. We are increasing our full year guidance whilst proactively managing the potential risks from further Covid-19 disruption."
"We now expect to deliver low double-digit revenue growth with operating profit margins broadly consistent with our first half performance, reflecting lower Coid-19 impacts but higher digital transformation investment in the second half. Delivering this guidance will result in the group's financial 2021 results being modestly ahead of current average consensus expectations," Qinetiq added.
The average forecast for financial 2021 as at Wednesday puts revenue at GBP1.15 billion and operating profit at GBP130 million, Qinetiq said. For comparison, revenue for financial 2020 was GBP1.07 billion and operating profit was GBP117.6 million.
Qinetq's total funded order backlog as at September 30 stood at GBP3.1billion, unchanged from the same period last year. Cash held totalled GBP141.1 million, down from GBP201.2 million the year prior.
By Ife Taiwo; [email protected]
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