Dusseldorf (dpa) – German arms company Heckler & Koch (H&K) has reported a significant growth in its business since the war in Ukraine began in late February.

Sales in the first quarter of 2022 grew by 22.2% to €77.5 million ($81.9 million) compared to the same period last year, the company announced on Friday. Net profit more than doubled from €3.3 million to €8.1 million.

“As far as we can look back, it was the best opening quarter in the company’s history,” said chief financial officer Björn Krönert, citing a generally high demand for weapons and more efficient work practices as reasons for the positive results.

The knock-on effects of the Ukraine war cannot have actually affected the quarterly figures, however, as there were no states that ordered and took delivery of weapons from the company between late February and late March.

Such additional business, which H&K does not discuss in detail, would not be expected to affect sales until autumn at the earliest due to production and delivery times.

Company boss Jens Bodo Koch said that demand from Russia’s neighbours had increased since Moscow’s annexation of the Crimea in 2014, and that this already high level of demand was likely to further increase.

“States on NATO’s eastern flank are stockpiling or renewing their weapon stocks – investments are being made in equipment to ensure defence capability,” he said.

Koch did not specify which orders had been added to the company’s books in the first quarter of the year. It is known, however, that H&K has supplied assault rifles to Norway, Lithuania and Latvia in the past, meaning that all three have framework contracts with H&K for which repeat orders can be placed.