Swedish defense giant Saab announced on Friday that its third-quarter performance and revenue both exceeded expectations, with new orders more than tripling compared to the same period last year, mainly driven by transactions supplying Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine.
The amount of the new order is 65.8 billion Swedish kronor (6.6 billion US dollars), which is higher than the 20.9 billion Swedish kronor in the same period last year, and also exceeds the 56.4 billion Swedish kronor expected by FactSet.
In the third quarter, sales reached 20.6 billion Swedish kronor, exceeding FactSet's forecast of 20 billion Swedish kronor. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) were 1.95 billion Swedish kronor, also higher than the predicted 1.9 billion Swedish kronor.
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The order revenue for Saab includes a contract worth 24.6 billion Swedish kronor for supplying 16 Gripen E fighter jets to Ukraine. The contract was signed in June and is recorded as part of the third-quarter orders, with delivery scheduled for 2029 to 2030.
In a statement, CEO Micael Johansson said: "The growing customer demand is reflected in several significant contracts, including Gripen and GlobalEye for Ukraine, as well as orders related to new German frigates."
Orders confirmed this quarter also include a GlobalEye military surveillance aircraft order worth 10.1 billion Swedish kronor, the customer of which has not been disclosed and is located in the Middle East; as well as a German frigate system order worth 8.7 billion Swedish kronor.
The products of Saab include Gripen fighter jets, submarines, missiles, and advanced electronic equipment. Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, the company has seen a significant increase in orders.
Despite the continuous expansion of the order book, strong sales growth, and improved profitability, the stock price of Saab has been under pressure in recent months due to some investors questioning whether the valuation has surpassed the industry's delivery capacity.
