Germany’s Rheinmetall benefits further from rearmament boom #NewsGerman

A boom in the global defence industry again brought significant growth for German armaments maker Rheinmetall in the first quarter.

According to preliminary calculations, revenue is expected to have risen by around 46% to €2.3 billion ($2.6 billion), the company announced in Dusseldorf on Monday. Revenue from military technology sales jumped by nearly 73%.

Rheinmetall estimates its operating profit to have increased by almost half, reaching €199 million. The company stated that profits from its defence business are likely to have nearly doubled. Both revenue and operating profit significantly exceeded market expectations, according to the company.

The company recorded strong new business thanks to in part to orders from the German government, with its order backlog reaching a new record high of €62.7 billion.

Against the geopolitical backdrop of Russia’s war in Ukraine and US President Donald Trump’s America First agenda, the board reaffirmed its revenue and profit forecast for 2025, projecting a 25-30% increase in group revenue and an operating profit margin of approximately 15.5%.

In the first quarter, this margin stood at 8.7%.

The outlook does not yet account for higher market potential, which is expected to emerge in the coming months due to geopolitical developments, particularly in key markets for Rheinmetall such as Europe, Germany and Ukraine.