BERLIN (Reuters) -Rheinmetall aims for 20 billion euros ($21.08 billion) in sales for 2027, boosted by increased defence spending by EU and NATO country leaders in response to the Ukraine war, the German defence group said in a Capital Markets Day presentation.

There is also potential for an 18% operating margin for 2027, said the company on Tuesday, singling out increased market potential by its entry in the United States and a joint venture with Italian defence giant Leonardo.

Shares in Rheinmetall were up 1.75% at 0941 GMT following the publication of the slides.

Rheinmetall expects to reach the threshold of about 10 billion euros in annual sales for the first time in 2024 after sales rose 36% from January to September to 6.3 billion euros.

Rheinmetall, Europe's biggest ammunition producer, signed a deal last month with Leonardo that it said increased market potential tenfold, while in the U.S., the acquisition of Loc Performance, expected to close next month, is part of ambitions to quadruple sales in that market over the coming years.

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