OHB's €3.35 Billion Backlog Meets a €1.2 Billion Capital Puzzle: From Spacecraft to Share Count
10.06.2026 - 19:04:52 | boerse-global.de
The space industry is a story of bold ambition and brutal math. OHB SE's order book has never been thicker — a record €3.35 billion in the first quarter of 2026, up 45% year-on-year. Yet the company's shares have shed nearly half their value from the May peak of €688.00, sliding another 4.88% to €370.50 in the latest session, as investors weigh a twin threat of dilution and a block trade from private equity heavyweight KKR.
KKR, which owns roughly 29% of OHB, is looking to offload about 20% of the total share capital before the end of June. The first attempt fizzled; now a seven-bank syndicate including Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Berenberg and Commerzbank is handling the placement. The move would increase the free float from a wafer-thin 5.7% to around 26%, a structural shift that analysts say should eventually reduce the eye-watering annualised volatility of about 146%. But in the short term, the overhang is crushing the stock.
Compounding the selling pressure, the virtual annual general meeting on 8 June handed management a sweeping financial mandate: the authority to issue convertible bonds, warrants and profit-participation certificates worth up to €1.2 billion through 2031. The resolution also creates conditional capital equivalent to 20% of the current share base, formalising the dilution risk that has spooked the market. Critics argue that fully deploying this capacity would severely water down existing holdings, even if the aim is to fund the record backlog.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying OHB SE?
That backlog, centred on €2.68 billion in the Space Systems segment, is driving a production transformation. On 1 July, Dr. Luis Alejandro Orellano will become the company's first chief operating officer. His task: convert a manufacturing operation that has long resembled a workshop into an industrial assembly line. Orellano joins from Rohde & Schwarz, where he ran the Technology Systems unit, and previously oversaw submarine and frigate programmes at thyssenkrupp Marine Systems. The new factory at the former TechniSat site in Schöneck will produce satellite constellations such as "Saxon-1," while a newly announced joint venture with AI firm Helsing — dubbed "KIRK" — is focused on tactical reconnaissance.
The company also aims to break into the launch business. The maiden flight of the RFA ONE rocket, built by OHB subsidiary Rocket Factory Augsburg, has a window opening on 1 July. OHB itself cautions that the probability of a first-flight success historically sits below 30%. But a positive outcome would reposition the group in the "access to space" segment.
Operationally, the first quarter of 2026 offered strong momentum: total output rose 15% to €279.3 million and adjusted EBIT surged 63% to €16.8 million. Management targets total output of €1.7 billion in 2027 and more than €2.0 billion in 2028, with an EBITDA margin of 11%. Yet the valuation leaves little margin for error — the price-to-earnings ratio hovers around 135 and the price-to-sales multiple at 6.27, meaning any operational disappointment could trigger a sharp correction.
Technically, the stock is trading about 5% above its 50-day moving average of €362.63, with the relative strength index at 46.3 — not yet in oversold territory. Once the KKR placement closes, the immediate overhang should lift, but the convertible bond framework ensures that the spectre of dilution will remain on the horizon for years to come.
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