QinetiQ boosted to £46m by US

Selling military robotics such as the roadside bomb-sweeping Talon to the US army in Iraq and Afghanistan and getting in on the $7 billion CIA and Pentagon programme to combat the threat of cyber-terrorists means the boffins at QinetiQ are looking increasingly to the West.

Nearly half of revenues at QinetiQ - the former research arm of the Ministry of Defence - now comes from the US. More than 60% of its 22% increase in pre-tax profits to £46 million in the half-year to the end of September was due to North America. The group, which has been parodied as being manned by Q-type figures from the James Bond films, has high hopes for its new Dragon Runner, a mini-version of Talon that can be carried on a soldier's back.

Chief executive Graham Love said belt-tightening at the UK MoD is good news for QinetiQ as it means defence chiefs are concentrating on existing programmes and upgrades the firm is already on. The interim dividend is up 13% to 1.5p.