OHB's Post-Rights-Issue Hangover Deepens as Interim Results Loom

OHB SE stock trades 66% below May peak amid post-capital-raise overhang, but record orders and new contracts set stage for Thursday's interim report.

The arithmetic facing OHB SE shareholders is becoming increasingly uncomfortable. The Bremen-based space group's shares closed Friday at €230.00, a staggering 66.57 percent below the May peak of €688.00 — yet the company's operational story has rarely looked stronger, with fresh contracts, a record order book and a seat at the table for Europe's next-generation space ambitions.

That disconnect between price action and business momentum is set to come into sharp focus on Thursday, when the company publishes its half-year results. For investors, the report represents the first real test of whether the group can translate its recent €484 million capital injection into tangible operational progress.

The Capital Raise Aftermath

The equity offering, executed in two tranches and announced via ad-hoc disclosure on July 9, drew participation from more than 200 investors. Existing main shareholders waived their subscription rights, with roughly 94 percent of the new shares deliberately placed with selected institutional investors. Private equity firm KKR separately sold down part of its existing stake alongside the transaction, bringing the total private placement volume to approximately €900 million.

The mechanics of that deal have left a heavy technical overhang. On the first trading day following the capital increase — June 26 — the stock slipped around 4 percent to roughly €299.50, dipping below the issue price. The slide has only accelerated since. Over the past 30 sessions alone, the shares have lost about 17 percent, leaving the stock trading well beneath its 200-day moving average of €243.97.

The Relative Strength Index now stands at 32.0, a level that chartists typically interpret as oversold and, potentially, a precursor to basing action — provided the fundamentals cooperate. Long-term holders who rode the remarkable 2025 rally still sit on substantial paper gains, though that cushion has thinned considerably since spring.

What the Market Wants to Know

Investors heading into Thursday's interim report are looking for answers on three fronts. First, the order backlog: at the end of the first quarter, OHB reported a record €3.35 billion, and the market wants confirmation that this figure has continued to climb. Second, margins: with the financing round complete and voting rights now spread across 21 million shares, analysts will scrutinise whether scaling in the Space Systems division is stabilising operational profitability. Third, capital deployment: how much of the fresh funds has already been committed to production capacity, acquisitions and the launch vehicle business.

The group entered the capital increase with an order book of €3.19 billion and revenue growth of 21 percent — figures that underscore why management felt confident pursuing an expansionary agenda.

Operational Tailwinds

The operational narrative, at least, remains intact. Thales Alenia Space has contracted OHB Italia to develop the PRISMA Seconde Génération Earth-observation satellite for the Italian space agency ASI, with launch slated for 2031. The programme will triple spatial resolution from 30 metres to 10 metres, with Leonardo supplying the hyperspectral instrument and the PRIMA-S platform drawing on the HE-R1000 series. In June, Thales Alenia Space also signed a €700 million contract with the European Space Agency for the Sentinel-1-NG programme.

Further out, the market anticipates progress during the third quarter on IRIS², the EU's connectivity programme, where OHB forms part of the core team for the MEO satellite constellation in medium Earth orbit.

Political Ambitions, Commercial Realities

The political landscape has also shifted. Defence Minister Boris Pistorius announced plans on July 23, at Isar Aerospace, for a German military spaceport, driven by limited access to European launch sites — currently, orbital rockets in Europe launch only from Andøya in Norway and SaxaVord in Scotland. Coastal locations and offshore platforms are under consideration. OHB was previously involved in GOSA, a concept study for a floating North Sea launch platform developed with the European Spaceport Company, which received €2.87 million in funding through February 2025 before the consortium was dissolved.

Management will present to institutional investors at the Berenberg & Goldman Sachs German Corporate Conference on September 21. But before that, Thursday's interim report offers the most immediate catalyst. Should the numbers confirm the growth trajectory, the stock may attempt a test of its 200-day line from below — a move that would signal the correction may finally be running its course.