OHB Puts Production First: New COO and Asteroid Camera Signal Ambition Beyond KKR's Overhang

German space firm OHB creates COO role, appoints Dr. Orellano from July 2026 to execute €3.35B backlog. Q1 output up 15%, EBITDA +37%, net profit triples. KKR's 29% stake overhang weighs on stock.

OHB is gearing up to prove that its record order book is more than a number on a slide. The Bremen-based space company has created a new chief operating officer role, appointing Dr. Luis Alejandro Orellano to the group executive board from July 1, 2026, as it races to turn a €3.35 billion backlog into delivered satellites and defense hardware. The announcement came on the day of the annual general meeting on June 8, 2026, sending a clear message that operational discipline now sits at the top of the agenda.

Orellano brings a heavy-industry pedigree to the job. The aerospace engineer spent 17 years at DaimlerChrysler and Bombardier before serving as chief operating officer at thyssenkrupp Marine Systems, where he oversaw complex submarine and frigate programs with long timelines and tight cost controls. Most recently he led the technology systems division at Rohde & Schwarz as executive vice president. The appointment is designed to bridge the gap between OHB’s sprawling large-scale projects and its factory floor, a challenge that has become acute as the company expands.

The operational push is backed by tangible numbers. In the first quarter of 2026, total output rose 15% to €279.3 million, adjusted EBITDA jumped 37% to €27.3 million, and net profit nearly tripled to roughly €10 million. The order backlog hit a record €3.35 billion, with the lion’s share in the core Space Systems segment. Management’s targets are equally ambitious: total output of €1.4 billion in 2026, €1.7 billion in 2027, and above €2.0 billion in 2028, with an EBITDA margin of 11% in the final year.

A high-profile contract signed at the ILA Berlin air show underscores the kind of work that backlog represents. OHB Italia will build the HAMLET hyperspectral camera for the RAMSES mission, a joint ESA-JAXA effort to study the asteroid Apophis during its close flyby of Earth in April 2029. The instrument will analyse Apophis’s surface in the infrared spectrum, feeding data that could inform planetary defence strategies. For OHB chief executive Marco Fuchs, the deal is a testament to the group’s technical credentials at a time when investors are focused on delivery.

Meanwhile, the supervisory board has added Dr. Theodor Weimer as a new member for a three-year term, replacing Claire Wellby. The change comes as the company navigates a volatile shareholder backdrop.

That backdrop remains dominated by private equity firm KKR, which holds roughly 29% of OHB and must place about 20 percentage points of that stake in the market by the end of June. The overhang has sliced the share price to around €371, some 46% below the 52-week high of €688. Despite a year-to-date gain of more than 205%, the stock is now testing technical support at its 50-day moving average of €364.49. Investors are waiting to see whether the block trade clears the way for the market to refocus on OHB’s operational story — or whether the selling pressure has further to run.