OHB Clears Bundeswehr Telescope Hurdle as Dividend Loses Tax-Free Sheen

OHB passes telescope test for German military, but proposes taxable €0.60 dividend. Strong Q1 growth and record €3.35B backlog offset low 0.10% yield.

OHB SE’s shareholders have two sharply different items to weigh ahead of the company’s virtual annual general meeting on June 8: a significant space-defense milestone and a less generous dividend payout than last year. The Bremen-based space specialist announced that two newly built one-metre telescopes for a German armed forces surveillance system passed their site acceptance test, reinforcing its credentials in a security market that European governments are increasingly prioritising.

The telescopes are designed to track objects in low-Earth and geostationary orbit, a capability now classified as critical infrastructure by the military. The test comes on the heels of OHB’s recent joint venture with Helsing, which pairs the company’s space hardware with the German AI and defence specialist’s software expertise to develop tactical reconnaissance systems from orbit. Together, the developments show how deeply OHB is embedding itself in NATO-aligned space security — a theme that has underpinned much of its stock re-rating this year.

But for income-focused investors, the dividend story has taken a less favourable turn. The board has proposed a payout of €0.60 per share from 2025 earnings, unchanged in nominal terms from the prior year, but the tax treatment is altogether different. Last year’s distribution flowed from the company’s tax-contributed equity account, meaning private investors paid no immediate withholding tax, solidarity surcharge, or church tax. This time the €11.49 million total payout will come from retained profit as a standard, taxable dividend. The company noted that the tax-free route is not a permanent fixture and is reassessed annually.

At Monday’s closing price of €596.00, the gross dividend yield sits at just 0.10% — a rounding error for most equity investors. The real draw, analysts say, remains OHB’s operating momentum. Full-year 2025 generated total output of €1.25 billion and an adjusted EBIT of €84 million, with earnings per share of €2.61 — more than four times the dividend proposed.

That momentum accelerated in the first quarter of 2026. Total output rose 15% year-on-year to €279.3 million, adjusted EBITDA jumped 37% to €27.3 million, and the order backlog swelled to a record €3.35 billion — a 45% increase from the same point in 2025. The bulk of that, around €2.68 billion, sits in the Space Systems division, including a €248 million contribution from the EPS-Sterna microsatellite constellation.

Despite the operational strength, OHB’s share price has been volatile. After touching a high of €688 on May 21, the stock has drifted lower, trading between €561 and €569 on Tuesday. The free float remains thin at roughly 5.7%, which can exaggerate swings in both directions. Even after the pullback, the stock still shows a gain of more than 400% since the start of the year. Analysts project earnings per share of around €3.64 for 2026, giving the company a market capitalisation of more than €11 billion.

The annual meeting, to be held virtually from Bremen, will also cover plans for scaling small satellite constellations, the European Moonport Company initiative, and a partnership with Dassault Aviation on the ESA’s VORTEX-S space glider proposal, for which OHB would lead the service module architecture. The telescope test burnishes the security narrative, but with the dividend stripped of its tax advantage and the stock already pricing in elevated expectations, the AGM may reveal how management intends to square the gap between ambition and market discipline. The ex-dividend date is set for June 9, with payment due on June 11.