The increasing demand for defense technology contributed to higher sales and profits for Rheinmetall in the first quarter. The sales of the DAX-listed group rose by 16 percent to around 1.58 billion euros, as the company reported. At the same time, the operating margin climbed sharply to 8.5 percent, compared with 6.1 percent in the previous year. This margin exactly meets market expectations, while the sales fell slightly short of expectations.

Despite these results, Rheinmetall reaffirmed its annual targets for 2024. Both sales and earnings are expected to increase, which is attributable to the good market situation and full order books.

Rheinmetall shares reacted to the quarterly figures on Tuesday with moderate losses. In pre-market trading on Tradegate, they fell by 0.9 percent to 531.50 euros compared to the XETRA closing price. The shares are currently not reaching their record high of almost 572 euros achieved at the beginning of April, but are well supported in the region of the round 500-euro mark.

Barclays Analyst Charlotte Keyworth now expects weaker price performance, as the securities have already fared relatively well ahead of the financial statement release. With a price gain of around 87 percent since the beginning of the year, they are the second strongest performer in the DAX behind Siemens Energy.

Thanks to the arms boom, Rheinmetall was able to continue growing in the first quarter. The operating result increased by 60 percent compared to the same period last year. Despite these strong figures, analysts had expected a bit more.