HENSOLDT increases adjusted EBITDA by 33% and refines guidance for 2026 upwards

The HENSOLDT Group (“HENSOLDT”) has continued its growth trajectory in the first nine months of 2026, with strong increases in order intake and revenue, further improved its profitability and refined its guidance for the full year. The ongoing substantial investment by Germany and other European countries in their defence capabilities is driving structural demand for HENSOLDT’s sensor, optronics and software-based solutions, above all in air defence.

Order intake rose to 3,564 million euros, exceeding the already high figure for the previous year by 76.7%. Both segments contributed to this. The largest contributions came from orders from the Eurofighter programme and for the Schakal wheeled infantry fighting vehicle and the Puma infantry fighting vehicle. The order backlog reached a new record high of 10,367 million euros. Revenue rose by 21.3% to 1,863 million euros (previous year: 1,536 million euros). The increase was driven by the core business excluding pass-through revenue, which grew by 17.7%, particularly in air defence. The service business also grew significantly. The book-to-bill ratio rose to 1.9x (previous year: 1.3x).

Adjusted EBITDA rose by 33.0% to 281 million euros (previous year: 211 million euros). In both segments, this was mainly due to a significant increase in revenue volume in the core business. The adjusted EBITDA margin improved to 15.1% (previous year: 13.7%). In the third quarter, it reached 20.6% (previous year: 17.6%). Adjusted EBIT rose by 45.4% to 177 million euros (previous year: 122 million euros), while the adjusted EBIT margin rose to 9.5% (previous year: 7.9%). Adjusted free cash flow improved to -104 million euros (previous year: -119 million euros), primarily thanks to higher advance payments, which offset the significant increase in investment in technology and capacity. In the defence industry, free cash flow is typically still negative at this point in the year, as contractual project milestones are predominantly due in the fourth quarter. In the third quarter, adjusted free cash flow was positive at 32 million euros.

Oliver Dörre, CEO of HENSOLDT, says: “The structurally high levels of defence spending in Germany and Europe continue to fill our order books. This is now increasingly reflected in our revenue, as our nine-month figures show. For our customers, what matters more and more is how quickly new capabilities reach the armed forces – and in what quantity and quality. This is where our investments in additional capacity are paying off: we are producing and delivering significantly more. In future, it will also matter how well sensors, platforms and software interact and can be adapted to new threats. That is why we are building on HENSOLDT’s strength as a sensor specialist to develop the company into a neo-systems house. Together with our partners, we are seeing initial successes along the way.”

Christian Ladurner, CFO of HENSOLDT, emphasises: “What matters to us is growth that is reflected in our results. That is precisely what we have achieved in the first nine months: adjusted EBITDA is growing noticeably faster than revenue, driven by economies of scale and disciplined cost management. Margins have risen in both segments; in Optronics, they have more than doubled. The record-high order book also gives us the planning certainty to expand our technology and capacities in a targeted manner. On this basis, we are raising our revenue forecast and expect to hit the upper end of the ranges for book-to-bill and margin.”

Significant growth in both segments – Optronics particularly dynamic

In the Sensors segment, order intake rose by 54.5% to 2,631 million euros¹ in the first nine months of 2026 (previous year: 1,703 million euros). Key drivers were the Eurofighter programme (Mk1 radar rebaselining, Halcon, Turkey), prototypes of the Knifefish electronic attack system, and further orders for TRML-4D radars. The segment’s order backlog reached a record high of 7.4 billion euros, while the book-to-bill ratio was 1.7x. Revenue rose by 15.5% to 1,522 million euros1 (previous year: 1,317 million euros). This was driven primarily by higher deliveries of air defence systems, in particular TRML-4D radars, and a strongly growing service business. Excluding pass-through revenue, segment revenue grew by 10.9%. Adjusted EBITDA rose by 18.5% to 236 million euros (previous year: 199 million euros); the adjusted EBITDA margin improved to 15.5% (previous year: 15.1%). The main drivers were increased revenue volume and cost discipline, while higher investment in research and development, among other factors, had an offsetting effect.

In the Optronics segment, order intake rose by 252.7% to 1,157 million euros1 (previous year: 328 million euros). The book-to-bill ratio came in at 3.3x, while the order backlog was 3.2 billion euros. This was driven mainly by major orders for commander’s and gunner’s sights, as well as self-protection systems for the Schakal wheeled infantry fighting vehicle and the Puma infantry fighting vehicle. Revenue rose by 52.4% to 354 million euros1 (previous year: 232 million euros). The Customer Support, Reconnaissance Systems and Ground Based Systems product lines made a particularly significant contribution to this development. All business divisions recorded double-digit growth, with the Luchs 2 programme as key contributor. Adjusted EBITDA rose to 45 million euros (previous year: 12 million euros), primarily due to volume effects and economies of scale. The adjusted EBITDA margin improved to 12.6% (previous year: 5.1%).

Guidance for the 2026 financial year refined upwards

Based on the positive business performance in the first nine months, HENSOLDT is refining its guidance for the full year 2026. The company now expects the book-to-bill ratio to be at the upper end of the previous range of around 1.5x to 2.0x, even if the PEGASUS contract is not awarded until early 2027. If the PEGASUS contract were to be awarded in 2026, the book-to-bill ratio would be around 2.3x. Further significant orders expected in the fourth quarter, including in electromagnetic warfare, the naval and land domains, and the Eurofighter programme, are contributing to the expected figure at the upper end of the range. The revenue guidance now stands at around 2,800 million euros (previously: around 2,750 million euros). The guidance for the adjusted EBITDA margin has also been refined, from the previous range of 18.5% to 19.0% to around 19.0%. For adjusted free cash flow, a cash conversion rate of around 50% of adjusted EBITDA is still expected. The targets for the net leverage of around 1.5x and for the dividend payout of 30% to 40% of adjusted net income also remain unchanged. As deliveries and acceptances are concentrated in the fourth quarter, the adjusted EBITDA margin for the full year is usually significantly higher than the nine-month figure. HENSOLDT confirms its medium-term targets.

¹ The sum of the segment figures for order intake and revenue differs from the HENSOLDT Group figure; the difference arises from eliminations, cross-segment items and other items.

Key figures

The results for the first nine months of the 2026 financial year are available on the HENSOLDT AG Investor Relations website. The Capital Markets Day (CMD) will take place in London on 10 November 2026. The preliminary results for the full year 2026 are expected to be published on 24 February 2027.