Rheinmetall has reported a 22.9% growth in backlog in the first three quarters of fiscal 2025 (FY25), following several major orders, particularly in the Electronic Solutions and Weapon and Ammunition divisions.
The backlog as of 30 September 2025 was €63.8bn ($73.5bn) against €51.9bn in the previous year period.
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Despite this growth in backlog, Rheinmetall Nomination, which covers incoming orders and future contract volumes, declined by 18% in the first three quarters of fiscal 2025, reaching €18bn.
Rheinmetall attributed the decrease mainly to postponed order placements following German federal elections and delayed budget adoption after the change in government.
In the first nine months of the fiscal, Rheinmetall’s consolidated sales rose by 20% to €7.52bn, up from €6.27bn in the previous year.
Sales in Germany accounted for 34% of overall revenue and international markets contributed 66%.
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By GlobalDataRheinmetall’s operating result increased by 18% to €835m in the first three quarters, with defence-related business contributing €825m to this figure.
Its earnings per share from continuing operations also improved from €7.32 to €8.34 over the same period.
Group operating result margin fell slightly to 11.1%, down from 11.3% a year earlier, largely due to costs incurred for initiating F-35 centre fuselage production at Weeze/Lower Rhine.
During the first three quarters, Rheinmetall’s Vehicle Systems division generated €3.24bn in sales, up by 28% due to deliveries under the “Unprotected Transport Vehicle 2.0” agreement and increased activity across tactical vehicle programmes for Germany and international customers.
Operating result for Vehicle Systems improved from €281m to €346m.
The segment’s backlog stood at €19.71bn at the end of September, reflecting a decline of 5% compared with the same point last year.
The Weapon and Ammunition segment also achieved sales of €2.01bn, an increase of 30% driven by larger sales volumes of ammunition and weapon systems for tanks, as well as higher orders for artillery and mortar systems destined for NATO states and Ukraine.
Backlog for Weapon and Ammunition climbed by 19% year-over-year (YoY) to reach €23.23bn at quarter-end, while operating result rose by €102m to €440m.
Similarly, Electronic Solutions division reported sales up by 41% at €1.46bn after nine months. However, operating result margin slipped slightly from 9.2% to 8.8%, which Rheinmetall connected to preparation expenses ahead of F-35 fuselage section production.
The division’s backlog stood at €16.66bn at quarter-end, up by 148% YoY.
Looking ahead, Rheinmetall anticipates achieving its sales and result targets for FY25, considering account business developments so far and expectations for the remainder of the year.
The company maintained its projection of consolidated sales growth between 25% and 30% compared to the previous year’s €9.75bn.
On the basis of this outlook, Rheinmetall continues to anticipate an improvement in operating result and an operating margin of approximately 15.5% for the full year, including acquisitions and holding costs, up from the 15.2% margin recorded in 2024.
Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger said: “We have developed strongly and, with solid growth, are well on track to achieve our ambitious annual targets.
“The foundations have now been laid for a strong fourth quarter, especially as the German Armed Forces’ planned major programmes are now secured in the federal government’s financial planning and will be commissioned in the coming months. We are very well prepared for the future thanks to the build-up of working capital, the securing of supply chains and huge increases in capacity.”
Recently, Rheinmetall announced a new strategy designed to enable European armed forces to produce synthetic fuels locally, removing dependence on international fossil fuel supply chains.
