QinetiQ defends £37m spent on cancelled bid

Defence and technology firm QinetiQ today defended the £37.1 million and eight years it spent bidding for the Government's defence training contract, which ministers scrapped last month.

Chief executive Leo Quinn claimed the big spend was an "investment" that would put QinetiQ "in a very good position to put together an outstanding proposal for future contracts".

The maker of sniper detectors, which employs 6,000 people in the UK, posted an underlying pre-tax profit of £51.6 million for the six months to October.

It cancelled the dividend in reaction to the impact of the Defence Spending Review.

Quinn was sanguine, however. "I do think the Government has engaged with industry over this process, there's a willingness to listen. I'm full of plaudits for that," he said.

The shares jumped 11.2p to 110.2p.