© Reuters. Armin Papperger, CEO of German automotive and defense group Rheinmetall AG, poses in front of the company’s logo and headquarters after an interview with Reuters in Duesseldorf, Germany, January 27, 2023. REUTERS/Jana Rodenbusch
By Sabine Siebold and Anneli Palmen
DUESSELDORF (Reuters) – German arms maker Rheinmetall had a record year in 2022 and is approaching an order book of 30 billion euros, Chief Executive Armin Papperger told Reuters in an interview.
“In 2022, we had a very good year, a record year,” he said, saying that the fourth quarter would even surpass the good results of the third quarter.
“We are approaching a €30 billion order book, and I expect to see a €40 billion order book next year,” said the chief executive of the company, which sells a wide range of defense products but probably most famous for supplying the 120mm gun on the Leopard 2 tank.
Papperger said he expected to see at least 15-20% growth in Rheinmetall’s defense division in the coming years, with the civilian business likely to account for just 20% of sales by 2025.
On Tuesday, Papperger had raised the group’s medium-term sales outlook in anticipation of a windfall from higher defense spending due to the war in Ukraine.
Rheinmetall expects sales to grow to 11 billion-12 billion euros ($12 billion-$13 billion) by 2025, it told German magazine Stern.
The projection is higher than the 10-11 billion-euro range that Rheinmetall gave during its capital markets day in November. By 2022, the company expects 6.5 billion euros in sales.
Rheinmetall is seen as a strong candidate to move up to Germany’s main stock index.
($1 = 0.9205 euros)
