QinetiQ Group has reported securing more than £3 billion in orders in FY26, as the defence group enjoys steady demand from key customers.
The Farnborough-based defence technology specialist confirmed its full-year guidance, expecting to deliver approximately 3% organic revenue growth, an operating margin of around 11%, cash conversion of roughly 90%, and earnings per share growth of 15-20%.
Chief executive Steve Wadey highlighted recent contract wins, including a £205 million five-year extension to deliver mission-critical engineering services for Typhoon aircraft through the Engineering Delivery Partnership.
The group also secured contracts worth £87 million for laser technology aimed at enabling future warfare capabilities.
“We remain well-positioned to deliver good in-year performance, long-term growth, and value creation for shareholders,” Wadey said. “With an order backlog of around £5 billion and a qualified pipeline of £11 billion we have significant long-term visibility.”
Pressures on global governments to boost defence spending are central to QinetiQ’s pipeline as geopolitical tensions dictate higher defence budgets.
“A key driver behind the renewed focus on defence has been Donald Trump, who has pressed Nato allies to increase military spending on the grounds that the US has long carried a disproportionate share of the burden,” said Garry White, Chief Investment Commentator at Charles Stanley.
“This push is not about reducing US defence outlays – on the contrary, his administration has lifted American military spending to record levels and proposed further increases. Framed as a response to strategic rivals such as Russia and China, the emphasis has been on modernising the US military, expanding missile defence and rebuilding the defence industrial base through greater investment in advanced technology.”
QinetiQ’s total order intake now exceeds £1.3 billion year-to-date, rising to more than £3 billion when including the Long Term Partnering Agreement (LTPA) with the UK’s Ministry of Defence, which was extended in May 2025. The company’s book-to-bill ratio now stands above 1x, with management confident it can be maintained throughout the full year.
Revenue cover stands at 94%, matching last year’s outcome and tracking expectations outlined at the half-year stage. This includes approximately 2% from opportunity pipeline wins expected to book and trade in the final quarter.
Recent contract awards since the half-year include an 18-month agreement worth £67 million to develop and produce the laser source for the UK’s first laser-directed energy weapons, and a £20 million contract for developing next-generation laser weapon technology.
In Australia, QinetiQ secured a two-year extension worth AUD$67 million to the Joint Adversarial Test and Training contract. The group also won a £34 million UK contract to support and transform a mission-critical C4ISR system.
Operationally, QinetiQ reported good programme execution and milestone delivery across major framework contracts including LTPA and EDP in the UK, and SDA in the United States. Further successful trials of the UK’s DragonFire laser weapon system took place in November, enabling the contract to progress into the production and delivery phase.
December marked a notable milestone as QinetiQ supported the Dutch Navy’s successful multi-day trial at its facilities – the first by a NATO ally for this type of exercise, highlighting the company’s ambitions to expand NATO usage of its test capabilities.