The Düsseldorf-based Rheinmetall Group closed the 2011 fiscal year with double-digit growth in sales and a record result.

Further growth is anticipated in 2012, while EBIT is expected to match the record level of 2011.


Klaus Eberhardt, CEO of Rheinmetall AG, says: “Following an excellent fiscal year in 2011, we have once again set ourselves ambitious targets this year. We are aiming for sales of €4.9 billion in 2012 and want to maintain our result at the record level reached in 2011. We want to defend our leading technological position in both divisions and strengthen our position on the international markets.”

The Rheinmetall Group achieved sales of €4,454 million in the 2011 fiscal year, which represented an increase of 12% on the previous year’s figure of €3,989 million. The increase in sales was achieved through growth in both Group divisions. Particularly strong growth of 17% was recorded in the Automotive division; however, the Defense division also continued to grow organically and through acquisitions, with a total increase in sales of 7%.

At 70%, the proportion of consolidated sales achieved abroad was up slightly on the previous year’s figure (after 69% in 2010).

The Defense division further expanded its international presence in the 2011 fiscal year. With orders from Algeria for the Fuchs armored transport vehicle and for a military training center for the Russian Federation, the division has entered two new markets.

The division also pursued its acquisition strategy, with takeovers of smaller and medium-sized companies in Germany, Switzerland and South Africa. The joint venture with MAN for wheeled military vehicles entered its second phase as scheduled in January 2012 with the integration of the two production sites in Vienna (MAN) and Kassel (Rheinmetall) and will be fully included in Rheinmetall’s corporate accounting for the first time in the current fiscal year.

The Automotive division further expanded its presence in the fastest-growing regions of the global market in the year under review and, with sales growth of 17%, significantly outperformed the international markets. Worldwide production of passenger cars grew by 3% in the same period; in the Triad markets of Western Europe, NAFTA and Japan, production increased by only about 1%.

With lower defence expenditure in some European countries and the USA in 2012, the Defence sector is expecting sales slightly down on the previous year’s level based on the current scope of consolidation. Based on the addition of logistical vehicle sales in the Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles (RMMV) joint venture, which is to be fully included in corporate accounting for the first time from the start of fiscal 2012, Rheinmetall is anticipating sales of approximately €2.5 billion for the Defence sector in 2012, following €2.1 billion in 2011.

Rheinmetall expects growth in sales and earnings in fiscal 2013. This requires the continued positive development of the global automotive industry and the implementation of large projects in the Defense sector as planned.