Hensoldt Secures Canadian Leopard 2 Spares Deal as Record Order Backlog Tops €9.8 Billion

Hensoldt secures €10M spare parts deal for Canada's Leopard 2 tanks, increases dividend 10%, and reports record Q1 orders of €1.48B, reaffirming 2026 outlook.

Hensoldt has bagged a service contract worth around €10 million to supply spare parts for the optronic systems on Canada’s Leopard 2 battle tanks, strengthening the company’s foothold as a technical partner within NATO. The award comes alongside a broader surge in military procurement that saw the defence electronics group’s order intake more than double in the first quarter.

At the virtual annual general meeting held on Friday, shareholders overwhelmingly approved a dividend of €0.55 per share, a 10 percent increase from the prior year. The payout will be made entirely from the company’s tax-contributed capital account, meaning it is generally not subject to tax for unlimited tax-liable shareholders but instead reduces their acquisition cost. The stock will trade ex-dividend on Monday, May 25, with the distribution scheduled for May 27.

The robust shareholder endorsement came despite scattered pre-meeting criticism over cash flow trends linked to heavy investment. CEO Oliver Dörre pointed to the transformation of political pledges into concrete contracts as the engine of growth, noting that Hensoldt is at the start of a long-term expansion trajectory. Attendance at the AGM represented 67.11 percent of the share capital.

Order intake for the first quarter reached €1.483 billion, more than double the year-ago level, while the order book swelled to €9.801 billion — a record high. Key drivers included contracts tied to the Schakal and Puma platforms, as well as extensions for Eurofighter Mk1 radars, where Hensoldt supplies sensor packages, electronics and software that are difficult to replace in modern defence systems.

Management reaffirmed its outlook for fiscal 2026, targeting revenue of approximately €2.75 billion and a book-to-bill ratio of 1.5x to 2.0x. The adjusted EBITDA margin is expected to land between 18.5 percent and 19.0 percent, underscoring a focus on controlled scaling alongside volume growth.

The market has responded enthusiastically. By Friday afternoon, shares had climbed to €89.52, capping a week that saw gains of roughly 21 percent. The stock has now clearly broken above its 50-day moving average, adding a technical tailwind to the fundamental story.