OHB SE: A Quarter Century on the Exchange and a Multi-Billion Euro Horizon

Marking 25 years as a publicly traded company on March 13, OHB SE has charted a course from modest beginnings to the brink of transformative, large-scale defense contracts. The Bremen-based firm, now eyeing a potential Bundeswehr order worth up to €10 billion, exemplifies strategic evolution in the European aerospace and defense sector.

Financial Ambitions and Record Backlogs

The company’s recent Capital Market Day in January revealed upgraded growth targets, underpinned by a formidable order book. For the 2025 fiscal year, new orders surged by 24 percent to approximately €2.1 billion, while the firm’s secured order backlog expanded by an impressive 47 percent to over €3.1 billion.

OHB has established the following medium-term financial benchmarks:
– 2026: Total revenue of €1.4 billion, with an EBITDA margin of 11% and an EBIT margin of 8%.
– 2027: Total revenue rising to €1.7 billion and an EBITDA margin reaching 12%.
– From 2028 onward: Total revenue exceeding €2.0 billion.
– Medium-term goal: Annual order intake of roughly €3 billion.

This confident outlook is driven by rising budgets from the European Space Agency (ESA), expanded EU space programs, and a significantly growing defense business.

The SATCOMBw Stage 4 Prize

A pivotal opportunity lies in the SATCOMBw Stage 4 program. OHB is bidding alongside Airbus and Rheinmetall to supply the German Bundeswehr with a sovereign satellite communications constellation. The project envisions 100 to 200 satellites in low Earth orbit, aiming to provide the German military with communication infrastructure independent of U.S. systems by 2029. The contract value could reach €10 billion, representing the largest single award in the company’s history.

Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying OHB SE?

OHB’s commitment is demonstrated by its October 2025 acquisition of a production facility in Schöneck, Saxony. The site was explicitly purchased for potential high-volume satellite manufacturing at the scale required for SATCOMBw Stage 4. A final contract award, however, is still months away as European competition for the project takes shape.

From Telematics to a Space and Defense Leader

The company’s journey underscores a dramatic transformation. When it listed as “OHB Teledata AG” in 2001 at an issue price of €10.50, it reported total revenue of just €15 million and employed 125 people. A strategic pivot occurred in 2002 with the acquisition of OHB System AG, refocusing the business decisively on space technology.

Today, the group employs about 3,800 people and anticipates total revenue of around €1.2 billion for the 2025 financial year. The foundation for this growth was laid in the early 2000s with OHB’s first major defense contract: the SAR-Lupe radar reconnaissance system for the Bundeswehr.

Civilian Business Provides Additional Momentum

Beyond defense, OHB’s civilian space activities are gaining traction. Its fully consolidated subsidiary, MT Aerospace, holds a ten percent production share in the Ariane 6 launcher, whose revenues now flow entirely into the group’s accounts. Furthermore, ESA awarded the company an €81.2 million contract for the RAMSES asteroid mission, a project whose total value is expected to grow to approximately €150 million.

Investors will gain the next crucial data point on March 19, when OHB presents its audited 2025 annual results at a press conference. A key focus will be whether margin development is keeping pace with the strong revenue growth, providing the first robust check on the company’s ambitious strategic targets.