Since the start of the war in Ukraine, the company moved quickly to meet Europe’s growing need for military spending.

Rheinmetall , a major beneficiary of Europe's renewed push to invest in defence, said on Wednesday it expects significant sales growth in 2025 and promised to update guidance after recent geopolitical developments are taken into account.

While 2024 sales grew 35%, boosted by increased demand, there was a dip in sales at its power systems and trade divisions at the start of of the year.

Rheinmetall plans to hand out more than €350mn to shareholders, as Germany’s largest weapons contractor reported record orders and profits amid a European scramble to boost defence spending. The Düsseldorf-based company on Wednesday revealed plans to raise its dividend 42 per cent to €8.