UK's Chemring reports record order book as governments rebuild defence munitions
UK's Chemring reports record order book as governments rebuild defence munitions June 2 (Reuters) - British defence company Chemring CHG.L reported a record order book for the six months ended April 30 as geopolitical conflicts prompted governments to rebuild depleted stockpiles of missiles and munitions.
Here are some details:
Underlying operating profit fell 7.5% to £24.5 million ($33 million) in the first half of the year, mainly due to delayed contract awards in the UK, its home market
Shares in the company fell as much as 5%
In the UK, which has pledged its biggest defence-spending increase since World War Two, a defence investment plan detailing spending priorities has been delayed by months, slowing some contract awards to Chemring
Despite a growing order book of £1.4 billion, the company kept its annual outlook unchanged
Western governments are investing in integrated air and missile defence, drone capabilities, cyber-enabled operations, and command-and-control systems, benefiting Chemring, which manufactures energetic devices for missiles and munitions, sensors, and countermeasures for these systems
The company continues to expand production of high-grade military explosives and materials for missiles and munitions across Europe and the UK. It invested £44 million in the first half in these expansion projects
Chemring's order book provided cover for 91% of the expected 2026 revenue and strong visibility into 2027 and 2028, it said
($1 = 0.7424 pounds)
(Reporting by Nithyashree R B in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)