Thales holds FY targets despite strong Q1, shares drop

(Sharecast News) - Shares in French cyber, aerospace and defence tech firm Thales Group dropped on Tuesday despite a huge increase in defence orders amid heightened geopolitical tensions, as the company held on to its full-year growth targets.

The company reported a 7.2% annual increase in revenues to �5.32bn during the first quarter, representing 9.7% organic growth. It also booked �4.65bn of orders during the three-month period, a 23% gain over last year.

While aerospace order were down 1% at �11.52bn, and cyber/digital orders dropped 7% to �857m, defence orders had surged 71% to �2.24bn.

The firm logged seven large-scale orders with a unit value of over �100m during the period, including a defence telecommunications satellite order from the government of Luxembourg, an order from the Danish Ministry of Defence for the production and delivery of SAMP/T NG air defence systems, and an order from the the Qatar Emiri Air Force for long-range air defence 3D radars.

"The group's three business segments contributed to growth, with particularly strong momentum shown in our Defence activities," said chief executive and chair Patrice Caine. "Amid continued geopolitical uncertainty, Thales' solutions, centred on security, sovereignty, and innovation, clearly demonstrate their relevance."

Looking forward, the firm reiterated all its financial targets for 2026, including organic sales growth of 6-7%, an adjusted EBIT margin of 12.6-12.8%

Shares were down 4.0% at �252.70 by 1033 BST.