Indra's profits soar thanks to public defense contracts
The technology company expects to earn 436 million in 2025, a 57% increase, boosting its dividend by 20%.
MadridThe defense boom, and in particular the surge in public funding allocated to it, has provided a much-needed boost to the results of Indra, the Spanish defense company in which the State holds a 28% stake. Between January and December 2025, the company, chaired by Ángel Escribano, earned €436 million, a 57% increase compared to 2024, as reported by the company to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) on Wednesday afternoon. Regarding the potential acquisition of the Escribano Group—a deal that has generated controversy due to a possible conflict of interest—Indra's CEO, José Vicente de los Mozos, simply stated that it is still under review. With these profits in hand, Indra has expressed optimism regarding its 2026 revenue: it expects to reach €7 billion. In fact, it has set much more ambitious targets than those outlined in its 2024-2026 Strategic Plan. At that time, Indra projected revenues of €6 billion this year. "We are confident in increased defense spending in Europe and Spain," Escribano stated at a press conference this Wednesday, held remotely and without questions.
In that context, the company has also announced an improvement in shareholder remuneration. Specifically, July will see a dividend payment of 0.30 cents per share, 20% higher than the 2024 payment, which will be drawn from profits earned in 2025.
Defense hiring surges
Indra's revenue grew by 13% in 2025, reaching €5.457 billion, with the defense, mobility, and air traffic sectors being the most prominent. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) – which helps to understand a company's financial health – reached €636 million, a 17% increase. Looking at the order book, the total reached €16.083 billion during the year, 122% more than in 2024. Of this amount, €6.790 billion corresponds to special modernization programs (PEM) in defense, with the military company Tess Defense. Excluding the impact of both factors, the contract backlog increases by only 9%, with the largest growth in orders coming from the air traffic management business, the technology subsidiary Minsait, and the mobility business.
Indra defends its "execution" capacity for the main specialized modernization programs (PEM) in defense, which depend on the Spanish government. However, its award has sparked a rivalry with one of the other major companies in the Spanish defense sector, Santa Bárbara, the Spanish subsidiary of the American company General Dynamics, which has already taken the dispute to court: it has filed an appeal against the awarding of some loans and plans to do the same with two modernization programs.