28th Jul 2006 07:01
QinetiQ Group plc28 July 2006 QinetiQ Group plc - AGM Statement 28 July 2006 QinetiQ Group plc, the international defence and security technology company,will hold its Annual General Meeting in London today at 11:00am. At the meetingthe Chairman of QinetiQ, Sir John Chisholm, will make the following statement: "In June we announced our first set of results as a public company which showedthat QinetiQ continues to deliver strong growth from its three-pronged strategyof :- focusing on its core UK defence business,- commercialising defence technology into adjacent markets and- expanding into the US defence and security markets. The business continues to perform well and we are pleased to confirm that theoutlook remains in line with that described in the Company's 2006 Report andAccounts published in June. The UK defence market will be shaped by the implementation of the Government'sDefence Industrial Strategy. Recent announcements have included long termpartnerships in the Complex Weapons and Rotorcraft fields, both of which includeQinetiQ participation, and the McKane report on the merger of the DPA and DLOwhich will shape the future of defence procurement. Further announcements thatwill be important for the company are expected in the autumn including the MODResearch and Technology strategy and the outcome of the Defence TrainingRationalisation competition. Our portfolio of new commercialisation opportunities is progressing well. Thismonth we announced a Tarsier sale to Dubai and promising discussions areunderway with a number of other airports. So far this year we have alsocommitted further investment of over £5m into Quintel, ZBD and Last MileCommunications.In the US we have announced the appointment of Duane Andrews, our firstfull-time CEO for QinetiQ North America. Performance in this sector is runningin line with expectations with a healthy order book including good performancefrom our robotics business. The £28.3m acquisition of OSEC in May has performed in line with expectations inits first few weeks in the Group. Acquisitions with deferred considerationarrangements continue to deliver to their targets and accordingly we have paidout some £7m of such consideration to date this year, principally in respect ofWestar. We continue to pursue sensibly priced acquisitions, principally in theUS, which open new customer markets, complement our technologies and fit withour culture. Looking forward to the half year we expect the seasonality of our underlyingtrading to be in line with a typical year, with a significantly greaterproportion of our UK profit earned in the second half. As previously announced£8m of restructuring costs will also be taken against underlying operatingprofits in the Defence & Technology sector, further impacting first halfmargins, whereas last year similar costs were taken in the second half. The Board expects the evolution of QinetiQ's business to continue. The reductionin our MOD research business is being replaced by our fast growing technologysupply business while our US business builds and our commercialisation matures.Overall progress remains consistent with expectations at the IPO." This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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