OHB Launches €1 Billion Capital Raise as Record Backlog Drives Operating Margin to 6%

OHB SE jumps 5.5% on €1B capital raise; record backlog €3.35B and 6% margin underscore growth. CEO Fuchs details industrialisation plan for profitability.

Investors cheered OHB SE’s ambitious growth agenda on Monday, sending the stock up 5.5% even as the space and defence group kick-started a capital increase of around €1 billion. The equity raise, prepared alongside freshly mandated banks, coincides with a capital markets update where management is expected to lay out how record orders will translate into sustained profitability.

The first-quarter numbers already point in that direction. Total output rose 15% to €279.3 million, while adjusted EBIT surged 63% to €16.8 million. That pushed the operating margin from 4.3% to exactly 6% — a milestone for a company whose satellite projects typically require heavy upfront spending before revenues hit the books.

Behind that profitability jump sits an order book that has never been fuller. At the end of March, OHB’s backlog stood at €3.354 billion, a 45% increase year-on-year. Key contributors include a large contract for EPS-Sterna microsatellites in Sweden, an ESA deal for the Ramses mission handled through the Italian subsidiary, and the recently announced partnership with Dassault Aviation to develop the VORTEX-S reusable spacecraft for the European Space Agency. The British arm has also secured an ESA contract for the Venus mission “EnVision” and plans to hire up to 100 new engineers in Bristol. Further commitments include funding for the Iris² satellite constellation and the SATCOMBw Stufe 4 military project.

The capital structure adds a layer of complexity. Financial investor KKR holds nearly 29% of the shares via Orchid Lux Holding, while the free float is a mere 6%. That skeleton-crew shareholder base has amplified price swings — the stock recently hit €486.50, within striking distance of its all-time high. The capital increase, which could dilute existing holders, nevertheless found buyers willing to bet that the fresh funds will accelerate the pipeline rather than simply bloat the balance sheet.

What investors want to hear at Monday’s strategy presentation is how chief executive Marco Fuchs intends to turn the industrialisation of satellite manufacturing into a permanently higher margin — and under what terms the €1 billion will be raised. A firm commitment to cash-flow conversion from those record orders would provide the fundamental underpinning for the current share price, while clarity on the bank mandates and pricing details could determine whether the stock can hold its recent gains.