Shares of defense supplier Renk at a record high

DThe tank gear manufacturer Renk is expecting good business in 2024 as well, given its full order books. At the turn of the year, the order backlog was higher than ever before at 4.6 billion euros, as the newcomer to the stock exchange announced on Wednesday in Augsburg. After an increase in sales and profits last year, CEO Susanne Wiegand expects further growth for 2024. “The high demand worldwide for a return to full armed forces is giving us tailwind and will continue to be a driver of our growth in the future.”

The news was rewarded with a jump in prices on the stock market. The Renk share rose by up to 13 percent to 36.58 euros in the morning, thus continuing its record hunt. Main owner Triton only took the company public in February – at a price of 15 euros per share. Since then, the price has risen by 144 percent. The paper was recently traded at 35.68 euros, a good ten percent more expensive than the evening before.

Last year, Renk brought in orders worth more than 1.3 billion euros – a record value. Sales grew by nine percent to 926 million euros. Earnings before interest and taxes adjusted for special effects increased by four percent to 150 million euros. The bottom line is that the group earned a good 32 million euros, around twice as much as a year before. Shareholders are to receive a dividend of 30 cents per share.

For the current year, Renk boss Wiegand expects sales to increase to between 1 and 1.1 billion euros. Before interest, taxes and special effects, 16 to 18 percent of this should remain operating profit. Last year, the adjusted operating margin was at the lower end of this range at 16.2 percent. In the medium term, the board wants to continue to increase sales by around 10 percent per year. The margin should then climb to 19 to 20 percent.

Renk produces gearboxes for tanks, vehicles and ships, but also for industrial plants. The offering also includes couplings, plain bearings and testing systems. The company went public at the beginning of February. Two thirds of the shares belong to the investment company Triton. The arms company KNDS, which was created from the merger of the tank manufacturers Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Nexter, secured almost seven percent.