Qinetiq boss Steve Wadey has hailed the success of the UK defence sector as his firm became the latest to report surging orders amid growing geopolitical tensions.
It said uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine, tensions with China and the conflict in Gaza had boosted defence and security budgets, helping the likes of Qinetiq, which specialises in high-tech areas such as robotics, laser and cyber, as well as more traditional UK defence firms such as BAE Systems and Babcock.
‘We are doing really, really well,’ said Wadey of the sector.
Boom time: Qinetiq said uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine, tensions with China and the conflict in Gaza had boosted defence and security budgets
His firm reported a surge in orders to £953million for the first half to the end of September, helped by a bumper period for Avantus, the US subsidiary it bought last year.
Avantus won a £181million contract with America’s Space Development Agency.
Qinetiq has agreed to explore the extension of its deal with the Ministry of Defence to 2033.
However, despite the order boost, shares fell 8.5 per cent after the results showed cash flows had been hit by the timing of customer payments.
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