Systems for the Eurofighter fighter jet in particular are driving the order backlog to a record level.

The European military buildup has given radar specialist Hensoldt a further boost in orders and sales. In the first quarter, the defense electronics supplier received orders worth €701 million, a good five percent increase over the previous year.

Systems for the Eurofighter fighter jet, in particular, drove the order backlog to a record high of around 6.9 billion euros. Sales increased by one-fifth to 395 million euros, according to the MDAX-listed company based in Taufkirchen near Munich.

However, the growth is not paying off overall – quite the opposite: The net loss attributable to shareholders doubled from EUR 14 million to EUR 30 million. Although Hensoldt earned EUR 30 million before interest, taxes, depreciation, and special items (adjusted EBITDA), this was nine percent less than in the same period last year.

However, CEO Oliver Dörre sees the company on track to increase revenue to between €2.5 billion and €2.6 billion this year. Approximately 18 percent of this revenue is expected to be retained as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, as well as before special items. In the first quarter, this margin was only 7.6 percent, down from 10.2 percent a year earlier.