Rheinmetall to sell civil business, takes 350 million euro impairment

Dec ‌17 (Reuters) - German defense manufacturer Rheinmetall said on Wednesday ‍it ‌has initiated the sale of its civil business ⁠activities and will classify ‌them as discontinued operations with immediate effect.

The company said the sale, which includes its Power Systems division, is ⁠part of a strategy to focus the group's activities on its ​core military operations.

Rheinmetall added it will ‌book a non-cash impairment ⁠charge of about 350 million euros ($411.08 million) due to discontinued operations.

The impairment loss has no impact ​on the liquidity or earnings of the group's continuing operations, the company said in the statement.

Rheinmetall also updated its forecast for the full year. ​It ‍expects sales growth ​of between 30% and 35%, up from its previous estimate of a 25% to 30% growth issued in November.

It now sees an operating margin of 18.5% to 19.0%, compared with 15.5% previously.

The sale ⁠is expected to be signed in the first quarter of 2026, after ​negotiations with two bidders.

In May, Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger said the company had been contacted by potential buyers of its civilian businesses ‌and was in talks with them.

($1 = 0.8514 euros)

(Reporting by Devika Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)