Tatra Trucks Spat Reaches Brussels as CSG Stock Staggers Near Yearly Low
27.06.2026 - 18:07:40 | boerse-global.de
The Czechoslovak Group (CSG) has thrown its weight behind a formal complaint from its subsidiary Tatra Trucks to the European Commission, escalating a row over a planned acquisition that threatens to expose strategic know-how to a competitor. The dispute comes at a delicate moment for the Prague-based defence conglomerate, whose shares are trading just 4.5% above a fresh 52-week low.
STV INVEST, a company that the Tatra management describes as an indirect competitor, is seeking to buy a 50% stake in Promet Tools, which in turn holds a 35% interest in Tatra. The truck maker fears that such a backdoor arrangement would grant an active market participant access to proprietary technology and commercial secrets. CSG, as the majority shareholder, is backing Tatra’s demand for a full-scale merger review rather than the simplified procedure that national authorities initially appeared to favour.
The stock market reaction to the uncertainty has been brutal. CSG’s equity closed Friday at €12.75 after touching a new 52-week trough of €12.20 during the session. The intraday bounce of 2.71% offered little comfort — the shares have shed more than 28% over the past month and stand nearly 65% below their 52-week high of €36.05 set on 26 January 2026. The relative strength index sits at 29.8, firmly in oversold territory, but technicians caution that a reading this low does not guarantee a reversal. With 30-day annualised volatility approaching 60%, Friday’s rebound is best described as a technical snapback, not a trend change. The next support lies at the yearly floor of €12.20; the 50-day moving average of €16.70 — roughly 24% above the current price — represents the first meaningful hurdle to the upside.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying CSG?
Yet the operational picture paints a starkly different story. CSG closed 2025 with annual revenue of €6.7 billion and net profit of €872 million. Momentum has carried into 2026: first-quarter revenue rose 13.8% year-on-year to €1.544 billion, while operating EBIT advanced 8.7% to €372 million, yielding a margin of 24.1%. The order book has swelled from €15 billion at the end of 2025 to €17 billion at the end of March, with an additional €27 billion in the negotiation pipeline — a combined potential of €44 billion. Management has reaffirmed its full-year guidance, targeting revenue between €7.4 billion and €7.6 billion, an operating EBIT margin of 24% to 25%, and a net leverage ratio below 1.3 times EBITDA.
Segment performance was mixed in the first quarter. The Defence Systems unit powered ahead with a 26.5% jump to €1.251 billion, while the Ammo+ division — CSG’s core munitions business — contracted 20.5% to €291 million, weighed down by weakness in small-calibre ammunition. The company’s recent acquisition of the Kinetic Group has broadened its defence portfolio, but investors appear far more focused on the regulatory cloud gathering over the Tatra holding.
The EU Commission now must decide whether to launch a full investigation into the STV INVEST deal. A comprehensive probe could delay the transaction significantly, leaving Tatra’s ownership structure in limbo. The next major catalyst for the stock is the release of half-year results on 7 August, when the market will scrutinise whether revenue can sustain its trajectory and whether the fattening order book will finally translate into bottom-line conviction. Until then, the gap between a booming defence contractor and a battered share price remains wide.
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CSG Stock: New Analysis - 27 June
Fresh CSG information released. What's the impact for investors? Our latest independent report examines recent figures and market trends.
