© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The Saab Technologies logo is displayed during the fifth day of Dubai Air Show in Dubai, United Arab Emirates November 21, 2019. REUTERS/Christopher Pike/File Photo
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Swedish defence equipment maker Saab raised its medium-term sales growth target on Friday as demand increases, and reported a rise in fourth-quarter operating profit.
Saab has seen a surge in orders in the last two years as many countries scramble to bolster defences amid rising global tension, sending its share price up some 250% since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022.
It raised its medium-term annual target for organic sales growth to around 15% from a previous goal of 10%, which it gave a year ago, for the period 2023-2027.
It also said it expected its organic sales to grow by between 12%-16% in 2024. In 2023, the organic growth was 22.6%.
Operating profit for the October to December quarter rose to 1.42 billion Swedish crowns ($135.60 million) from a year-earlier 1.31 billion.
This story originally appeared on Investing