Leading defense and aerospace companies in the world have enriched investors on the stock exchanges in the first quarter of the year.
Shares of the world’s leading defense and aerospace companies demonstrated a successful performance during the January-March period of this year.
The deals made, contracts won, favorable financial statements, and acquisitions were supportive factors for the shares of defense and aerospace companies.
Leading defense and aerospace companies in the world soared for investors on the stock exchanges in the first quarter of the year.
In the first quarter of the year, US-based RTX Corporation provided its investors with a return of 97.5%, German Rheinmetall AG with 81.5%, Japanese Mitsubishi Heavy with 73.3%, and South Korean Hanwha Aerospace with 64.3%.
A subsidiary of RTX Corporation, Raytheon, signed a $1.2 billion contract to provide Patriot air and missile defense systems to Germany.
Rheinmetall AG, on the other hand, completed the 2023 fiscal year with a strong performance. The company’s sales increased by 12% during this period to reach 7.2 billion euros.
Meanwhile, the Japanese government’s easing of strict rules on the export of defense equipment to overseas countries has been a supportive factor for Mitsubishi Heavy’s shares. With this step, the way was opened for the overseas sale of a new combat aircraft planned to be jointly produced by the United Kingdom, Italy, and Japan until 2035.
Leading contractors in the combat aircraft project, Mitsubishi Heavy from Japan, BAE Systems from the United Kingdom, and Leonardo from Italy, participate in the coordination committee. Under the “Global Combat Air Programme” announced to the public in December 2022, the coordination committee aims to complete the design of the combat aircraft by 2027.
In January, Hanwha Aerospace won the howitzer tender opened by Romania and reached an agreement on a $751 million contract.
Italian Leonardo yielded returns of over 55.8% to its investors in the first quarter
In the first quarter of the year, shares of Italian Leonardo gained 55.8%, British BAE Systems gained 21.5%, French Thales gained 18%, European-based multinational aerospace company Airbus gained 15.5%, and French company Dassault Aviation gained 13.8%.
Last month, Leonardo qualified to participate in the EU research program Additive Manufacturing for High Performance (MAM4HP) concerning incremental production.
In February, BAE Systems delivered a new Amphibious Combat Vehicle for testing to the US Marine Corps.
Meanwhile, Japan Airlines (JAL) announced that it would purchase 21 Airbus wide-body A350-900 passenger aircraft between the fiscal years 2025-2033. Additionally, the number of aircraft delivered by Airbus increased by 12% in the first quarter of the year compared to the same period last year, reaching 142.
Dassault Aviation achieved revenue of over $5 billion in 2023.
Other US-based companies also generally yielded returns on the stock exchanges
US-based companies provided returns to their investors with General Dynamics gaining 8.8%, Northrop Grumman gaining 2.2%, L3 Harris Technologies gaining 1.2%, and Lockheed Martin gaining 0.4%.
General Dynamics signed a $922 million contract to modernize the information technology infrastructure of the US Central Command (CENTCOM).
Northrop Grumman signed a memorandum of understanding with German arms manufacturer Diehl Defence to confirm the possibility of integrating Diehl Defence’s land-based air defense systems into Northrop Grumman’s integrated warfare command system.
An agreement was signed between the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Investment and the General Authority for Military Industries and American Lockheed Martin to localize the production of parts for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system.
Lockheed Martin estimated that its sales would increase to between $68.5 billion and $70 billion in 2024 compared to the previous year.
Meanwhile, in the first quarter of the year, shares of Chinese China Aerospace International Holdings Limited decreased by 4.8%, and shares of American Boeing decreased by 26%.
source: aa.com.tr/ prepared by Melisa Beğiç