Rheinmetall shares jump after record profit

Rheinmetall shares rose almost nine percent on Wednesday after the German armsmaker reported record second-quarter core profit that beat analyst expectations.

The company said core profit for the three months to June was 562 million euros, or $639.5 million. That was roughly double the level a year earlier and about 20 percent above analyst expectations in a Vara Research poll.

Revenue rose almost 70 percent to 3.3 billion euros, Rheinmetall said. The company said growth was broad-based and that all segments contributed to the year-on-year improvement.

Rheinmetall shares have risen 13-fold since before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 as defence spending has increased across Europe.

Germany's defence budget is planned to rise 33 percent by next year to almost 110 billion euros as Berlin rearms to face the threat from Moscow and compensate for wavering American commitment to European security.