By Hugo Lhomedet and Alban Kacher
(Reuters) -Exosens said on Monday it would nearly double its planned capacity investment after the French defence technology firm’s nine-month revenue jumped 23%, driven by surging demand for night vision equipment from NATO members.
The maker of night vision gear and components for scientific instruments expects to increase its global capacity by 40% by 2027, up from the 25% increase it had announced in March, with an additional investment of 17 million euros ($20 million) in Europe.
“In response to sustained demand, we have decided to implement an additional staggered capacity expansion,” Exosens CEO Jerome Cerisier said in a press release.
The company saw its sales grow to 327.8 million euros in the first nine months of the year, driven by a nearly 21% rise in its Amplification business and more than 26% growth in the Detection & Imaging business. It also confirmed its full-year outlook.
Military equipment orders have jumped following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Washington’s push for European allies to boost defence spending.
NATO countries pledged in June to spend 3.5% of their gross domestic product on core defence and 1.5% on broader defence-related measures, a jump worth hundreds of billions of dollars a year from the current goal of 2% of GDP.
Exosens expects night vision gear to remain in short supply through 2027, with militaries unable to meet their equipment targets.
“Defense momentum remains strong and continues to gain traction, both in Amplification and in Detection & Imaging, and Exosens is seizing significant growth opportunities driven by the rise of emerging applications such as drone warfare and advanced night vision technologies,” Cerisier said.
The group also said it would divest its loss-making Microwave Amplification unit under an asset purchase deal, with closing due by early 2026.
($1 = 0.8575 euros)
(Reporting by Hugo Lhomedet and Alban Kacher; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Milla Nissi-Prussak)
