OHB Forges Dassault Alliance and Sets €3 Billion Annual Order Target

German space group OHB targets €3B annual orders, teams with Dassault on ESA's VORTEX-S, and posts record backlog of €3.35B amid KKR stake sale plan.

The German space and defense group OHB has entered a pivotal week with a freshly unveiled transatlantic partnership and a set of aggressive growth targets that aim to transform its order book from project-driven to programmatic. At its Capital Markets Update on May 18, management will lay out a roadmap calling for average annual order intake of roughly €3 billion — a step change from the current trajectory.

The timing is deliberate. On May 11, OHB and France’s Dassault Aviation announced a joint bid for the European Space Agency’s VORTEX-S program, a reusable winged spacecraft designed for cargo runs to low-Earth orbit. Dassault will act as prime architect and global integrator, while OHB takes charge of the service module. The ESA solicitation for Phase 2 opened on January 8, with bids evaluated by mid-2026. An earlier Phase 1 contract went to capsule-based designs, positioning the Dassault-OHB winged approach as a direct alternative. The broader development plan includes a one-third-scale demonstrator, VORTEX-D, with a first flight targeted for 2028.

The financial ambitions behind the strategy are clear. For the current year, OHB targets total output of €1.4 billion, rising to €1.7 billion in 2027 and eventually crossing the €2 billion threshold. Profitability is expected to follow: the medium-term EBITDA margin target stands at 11%. First-quarter figures already show momentum. Revenue came in at €270.9 million, while total output — a wider measure including contract work in progress — hit €279.3 million, up 15% year-on-year. Adjusted EBIT surged 63% to €16.8 million, lifting the margin from 4.3% to 6.0%. Earnings per share more than doubled to €0.52 from €0.26, and from €0.20 on a comparable basis a year ago, according to secondary filings.

The order pipeline is the strongest in the company’s history. Backlog reached €3.35 billion at the end of the first quarter, a 45% jump from the prior year. The largest individual contribution came from OHB Sweden, which secured a €248 million contract for the EPS-Sterna microsatellite constellation, building on an Arctic-weather-satellite prototype launched in 2024. OHB Italia also added an €81 million ESA award for the Ramses mission. The stock responded in kind: after breaking through €300, OHB shares briefly touched €487 on Xetra, a new all-time high, and have gained roughly 480% over the past twelve months.

Yet a large overhang lingers. Private-equity firm KKR, which holds 28.6% of OHB via its Orchid Lux Holding vehicle, plans to sell roughly 20% of that stake. JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank are mandated to place the shares, a move that would boost the free float from its current meager 5.7% but also inject short-term volatility. The founding Fuchs family retains 65% of voting rights, so a full delisting remains unlikely. Market participants have already priced in some nervousness: the stock slipped from its peak after the sale plan emerged.

Another potential catalyst is stuck in regulatory limbo. The German Federal Cartel Office is reviewing a proposed joint venture between OHB and Rheinmetall Digital for the SATCOMBw Stufe 4 military communications program. Analysts estimate OHB’s revenue share could reach €3.3 billion. A decision is pending.

Shareholders will get a cash return of €0.60 per share at the annual general meeting on June 8. But first, the May 18 Capital Markets Day must convince investors that the record backlog and splashy partnerships add up to a repeatable growth model — and that the stock’s stellar run has room to continue.