OHB's Two-Speed Story: Record Backlog and a Fortified Balance Sheet Collide With a Sharply Lower Profit
Published on 08/07/2026 at 13:02 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
Investors scanning OHB SE's half-year scorecard got two very different pictures on Thursday. The Bremen-based space and defence group posted double-digit operational growth and a balance sheet transformed by a hefty capital raise — yet net income was cut by more than half. The market's verdict was swift: the shares closed at €239.00, down 6.64 percent on the day, leaving the stock 65.26 percent below its 52-week high of €688.00 reached as recently as May.
The disconnect between the underlying business and the share price reaction has become the defining feature of OHB's recent trading. Over the past month, the stock has shed 15.00 percent, though it still shows a year-to-date gain of 103.42 percent. That gap between long-term enthusiasm and short-term jitters frames the central question now facing the company: can the political tailwinds around European defence and space policy carry the valuation expectations baked into analyst targets, or must OHB prove in coming quarters that its swelling order book can actually translate into margin?
The Operational Picture: Growth Where It Counts
Beneath the headline profit decline, the operating metrics tell a story of momentum. Total output rose 11 percent to €627.9 million in the first half, with revenue up 12 percent to €600.1 million. Adjusted EBITDA climbed 31 percent to €60.4 million, while adjusted EBIT advanced even more sharply, up 46 percent to €38.9 million. The order backlog expanded from €3.067 billion to €3.304 billion year-on-year — a solid foundation for the group's ambitious medium-term targets.
The profit squeeze, however, was real. Period net income fell from €11.5 million to €4.8 million, with earnings per share dropping from €0.57 to €0.25. That decline likely weighed on sentiment despite the clearly improving operational picture.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying OHB SE?
A Balance Sheet Transformed
The capital increase executed earlier this year has fundamentally reshaped OHB's financial position. Equity jumped from €431.4 million to €915.6 million, lifting the equity ratio from 27.5 percent to 43.3 percent. Cash and financial assets stood at €526.9 million at the end of June, versus just €52.8 million a year earlier. The two tranches of the capital raise together generated gross proceeds of roughly €484 million.
The ownership structure has remained largely stable through the process. The Fuchs family retains majority control with over 60 percent, KKR holds just under 20 percent through its investment vehicle, and free float accounts for roughly one-fifth of the shares.
For the current fiscal year, management confirmed its guidance: total output of around €1.4 billion and an adjusted EBITDA margin between 10.5 and 11.0 percent. The medium-term targets remain unchanged — total output above €4.0 billion and an adjusted EBITDA margin of roughly 13 percent.
Defence and Space: A Converging Agenda
OHB has been positioning itself squarely at the intersection of Europe's rearmament push and its space ambitions. The company and the European Spaceport Company welcomed Defence Minister Boris Pistorius's late-July statement that the Bundeswehr was considering its own launch site. Managing director Sabine von der Recke cited "very intensive preparations to provide Germany with its own, sovereign and flexible launch capability," while CEO Marco Fuchs noted that work on the offshore spaceport concept was continuing, with the area of interest having broadened considerably beyond the original North Sea focus.
On the programme front, OHB Italia received an order from the Italian space agency ASI on 30 July for the PRISMA Second Generation mission, scheduled to launch by the end of 2031. The company will serve as prime contractor, with Thales Alenia Space Italia responsible for the satellite platform and Leonardo supplying the hyperspectral instrument. Separately, OHB has confirmed talks with Rheinmetall Group about potential cooperation on future public procurement, and is working with the defence group on a protected communications architecture for Europe. A new joint venture with Helsing, named KIRK, will develop a space-based reconnaissance and targeting system alongside Hensoldt and Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace.
OHB SE at a turning point? This analysis reveals what investors need to know now.
Analysts Weigh In — With Divergent Views
The analyst community has taken notice, though opinions differ markedly on valuation. On Wednesday, several houses initiated coverage with price targets ranging from €250 to €360. Goldman Sachs struck a more cautious tone with a Neutral rating, citing a balanced risk-reward assessment. Deutsche Bank followed on Friday with a Buy recommendation and a €275 target, pointing to roughly €35 billion in German defence-related space spending planned over the next five years and OHB's stated ambition to triple revenue in the medium term.
The wide spread between the most conservative and most optimistic targets suggests the market has yet to settle on how much of the defence-and-space story is already priced in — and how much must still be delivered. The next checkpoint comes on 12 November, when OHB is scheduled to report third-quarter results.
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