German defence group Rheinmetall has trimmed its sales forecast for 2026 to €13.2bn, down from the previous range of €13.7bn to €14.2bn. The company also expects its operating margin to sit near 18.5%, slightly below the roughly 19% it had anticipated. The revision is linked to the fact that no Arminius Boxer contract is now expected this year. Arminius is a German army programme for an armoured version of the Boxer vehicle, and its timing has a direct bearing on the company's near-term revenue picture.
The reduced guidance came alongside a strong third quarter. Rheinmetall reported sales up 32% to €3.15bn and operating profit up 62% to €553m. Its operating margin reached 17.5% in the quarter, compared with 14.8% a year earlier, showing that profitability improved even as the outlook for the full year was adjusted. New orders totalled €2.89bn over the same period, indicating that demand remains robust even as the timing of a major contract shifts.
Alongside its financial update, the group confirmed a move into Romania. Rheinmetall, together with the Swiss company MSC, has bought the Mangalia shipyard on the Black Sea coast. The purchase price was about €138m excluding VAT. The asset was sold through an auction held on 9 October, with the buyer registered as Rheinmetall Real Estate Romania SRL. The seller's liquidator, CITR, was handling the sale on behalf of Damen Shipyards Mangalia, the previous operator of the site.
The shipyard is to be divided into sectors and is intended to serve as a hub for future naval projects. According to the reporting, Mangalia is expected to help build four military ships for the Romanian navy. The acquisition is also expected to allow shipyard activity to resume after a period in which operations had stopped under the previous owner, restoring industrial capacity on a site with existing maritime infrastructure.
The shipyard deal places Rheinmetall in a growing role in Romanian defence and maritime industry. It comes at a time when the company is balancing a softer near-term sales outlook against a strong order intake and a continued push into new markets. The combination of a reduced 2026 forecast, improved third-quarter margins and a physical foothold on the Romanian coast gives the group both a short-term adjustment to explain and a longer-term industrial commitment to pursue.