Qinetiq looks to major overhaul

Leo Quinn, who took the helm in November, said the company was too complex and lacked strategic focus after its rapid growth fuelled by acquisitions and the company's entry into the US market.

The US expansion has delivered lower-than-expected returns, while delays in orders from the Ministry of Defence have added to the company's woes as underlying profits for the year to March 31 fell to 85.7m, from 130.2m a year earlier. Including write-downs on the value of assets, the group reported a bottom-line loss of 66.1m.

Qinetiq, which employs 7,000 people in the UK out of a total workforce of 13,000, warned that job cuts were likely as part of a drive to cut costs by around 10 per cent.

Mr Quinn said: "Our markets are likely to remain uncertain for some time, but we now have a decisive programme of self-help to restore value. We are acting to make our costs more competitive, our productivity better and our debt lower."

Qinetiq can trace its heritage from the birth of powered flight in the UK at Farnborough through the development of radar during Second World War.