FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Positive reactions to the detailed quarterly figures pushed Rheinmetall shares close to their record high on Thursday. In the late morning, the price of the defense contractor's shares rose by 1.4 percent, putting it in the top third of the 40-stock DAX index. At a peak of 280.90 euros, the Rheinmetall share price had previously approached the record high of early April by as much as 40 cents.

Rheinmetall thus stood out from Hensoldt shares, which - also after the presentation of quarterly figures - were down 0.3 percent.

Rheinmetall had already published key data and so there were few new details on Thursday. According to JPMorgan expert David Perry, it became clear that the strong defense business was offset by the weaker automotive supplier division.

George McWhirter from Berenberg Bank made positive mention of a slight increase in sales and margin targets for the Spanish ammunition subsidiary Expal Systems. Sven Weier of UBS assumed in the morning that the market would appreciate the strong profitability in the weapons and ammunition business.

Rheinmetall has been the biggest winner on the stock market since the start of the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine in February 2022. The company's market value has almost tripled since then to around 12 billion euros. Hensoldt's share price has risen by almost 120% in that time. The company is worth just under three billion euros./tih/zb/mis