Renk Chief Reinforces Confidence With €238,803 Purchase as Defence Stocks Bounce

Renk Group's chief executive has put his own money behind the defence contractor, snapping up shares worth €238,802.94 on Thursday at an average price of €35.169. The disclosure of the insider transaction landed as the stock climbed 4.0% to €36.20, part of a broader revival across European defence names that Dow Jones reported had come under pressure following the US election result.

The rebound follows a difficult stretch for the sector, with German defence stocks among those recovering from the prior week's losses. Renk stood out among the day's gainers, with the share price advancing firmly into positive territory.

Nine-Month Orders Outpace Revenue

The insider buying coincided with scrutiny of Renk's already-published figures for the first nine months of 2026, which showed order intake growing considerably faster than sales. Orders rose 33.6% to €1.66 billion, while the total order backlog stood at €7.6 billion at the end of the reporting period.

Revenue for the period increased 5.8% to €982.0 million. Profitability improved in tandem: adjusted EBIT climbed 12.7% to €158.8 million.

Looking at the full year, Renk expects revenue of around €1.4 billion for its continuing operations in 2026, with adjusted EBIT forecast between €240 million and €255 million. The guidance explicitly covers the continuing business only.

Portfolio Reshaped on Two Fronts

Alongside the operating numbers, Renk has been redrawing the boundaries of its business. Just over a week ago it completed the acquisition of David Brown Defence from Stellex Capital Management. The acquired operation now trades as RENK UK Huddersfield and is positioned as a centre of competence for submarine propulsion systems. Renk put the combined order backlog and pipeline of the acquired business at more than £700 million, covering the period from 2026 to 2030.

On the disposal side, Renk signed a binding agreement with Miba AG on 22 October covering its plain bearing business. The move sets contractually agreed changes in the plain bearing operations against the completed purchase in submarine propulsion.

Investors will get a fuller picture of where the group is heading on 8 December, when Sagel is scheduled to outline strategy at an update in London.