KSK gets new rifles
Heckler & Koch is cashing in thanks to full order books
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Things are going smoothly at Heckler & Koch. The manufacturer of assault rifles and other small arms presents good half-year figures and at the same time a new order for sniper rifles for a German special unit. But there is a fly in the ointment.
Against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, the order books of the weapons manufacturer Heckler & Koch are full to the brim. The company in Oberndorf in the Black Forest announced that orders worth 197.8 million euros were received in the first half of the year. Compared to the same period last year, this was an increase of almost 39 percent.
Such orders run for several years – the business prospects of the manufacturer of assault rifles, machine guns, grenade launchers and pistols are therefore positive. At the beginning of this week, HK also received an order for up to 500 sniper rifles for the Bundeswehr's Special Forces Command (KSK).
Sales also increased in the first half of the year, reaching 171.4 million euros and thus around 14 percent higher than in the first half of 2024. Cash was made with arms deliveries to Spain, Latvia, Norway, Japan and the Bundeswehr. The German arms manufacturer's competition includes Beretta (Italy), CZ with its US subsidiary Colt (Czech Republic) and FN (Belgium).
“We are a reflection of the global security situation, the demand for our products is currently very high,” said company boss Jens Bodo Koch, emphasizing that we will continue to only supply countries in NATO, Europe and Germany’s security partners – “i.e. security forces who fight for peace “stand up for freedom and security”. HK weapons are also in use in Ukraine – they were given by European armies to the country attacked by Russia.
Profitability falls
The only downside from an operational perspective was that Heckler & Koch was operating less profitably: the operating result (EBIT) fell by almost eleven percent to 23.2 million euros. Company boss Jens Bodo Koch explains this with an attractive “systems business”: HK not only sells the weapon, but also additional components such as silencers and laser light modules.
The Black Forest gunsmith buys these accessories from other companies and resells them – such resale is less profitable than products made in-house. For the full year 2024, the company boss expects that the operating result will be at the same level as the previous year.
According to its own estimates, Heckler & Koch has a market share of around two thirds for small arms used by the military and police in European NATO countries. In the USA – the largest arms market in the world – the company only plays a minor role, but has recently had sales successes with the police and military, for example with weapons for the Texas Rangers.