Ring exchange by the federal government
Rheinmetall delivers 15 Leopard tanks to Slovakia
11/16/2022 12:26 p.m
The Ukraine war fills the pockets of German armaments companies. Rheinmetall is also correcting its profit expectations for the coming years upwards, as many NATO countries want to upgrade. Slovakia initially receives several main battle tanks after delivering war equipment to Ukraine.
As part of the ring exchange commissioned by the German government, Rheinmetall is supplying 15 main battle tanks to the Slovak Republic. This has now been contractually agreed in Brussels between representatives of both countries and the company, as Rheinmetall AG announced. In addition to the Leopard 2 A4 tank model, the order includes an ammunition package and integrated training and logistics services. The Slovak armed forces, for their part, are handing over military equipment to Ukraine in support.
The vehicles provided are overhauled Leopard 2 A4s from former stocks in various user countries, which are owned by Rheinmetall. The first vehicle is scheduled for delivery in December 2022 and delivery is expected to be completed by the end of 2023.
The exchange of rings is intended to support Ukraine in its efforts against the Russian invasion. NATO partners hand over large equipment from former Soviet production to the Ukraine and receive available systems from Western production in return.
Because of the armament in many NATO countries, Rheinmetall has set itself higher financial targets for the medium term. In 2025, the Düsseldorf group wants to achieve sales of between 10 and 11 billion euros, as it announced at an investor event in Vienna. The operating profit margin, which Rheinmetall uses to measure its profitability, is expected to increase to around 13 percent.
For the current year, the company, which is listed in the MDax, is currently targeting around 15 percent growth in sales from its own resources compared to the 5.66 billion euros in sales in the previous year, with a margin of over 11 percent. At the previous capital market day in February 2021 – before the outbreak of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine – Rheinmetall had announced sales of around 8.5 billion euros by 2025 with a margin of 10 percent or more.
Since then, with the outbreak of war in February 2022, the security situation in NATO countries has changed significantly: Rheinmetall hopes to use the special fund for better equipment of the Bundeswehr in the amount of 100 billion euros to get a large share for its own orders. The group’s share price skyrocketed when war broke out in Europe.