QinetiQ Group plc (LON:QQ) has announced its FY26 Full Year Results
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, QinetiQ 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 |
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.
