The Czechoslovak Group has clawed back some ground this week, with shares climbing more than 14% from their recent nadir. Yet the rebound masks a bitter boardroom battle at one of its most important subsidiaries and a transatlantic expansion that is only just getting started. The stock closed Friday at €14.59, still a long way from the January all-time high of €36.05 and well below the 100-day moving average of €21.45.
Michigan has become the focal point of CSG’s American push. A new subsidiary, CSG Land Systems North America, will market the products of Excalibur Army and Tatra to the US military. The star offering is the Morana howitzer, which mates a Tatra chassis with standard NATO ammunition. Jason Alejandro Monahan has been tapped to lead the new Michigan operation, while David Jacobs, a former Northrop Grumman executive, takes the helm at CSG Defense North America from a newly established Washington office. The parent company has also been poaching senior talent from Rheinmetall, BAE Systems and Raytheon in a bid to signal its transformation from a purely European player into a transatlantic contender.
That overseas drive, however, is unfolding against a fractious backdrop at Tatra Trucks, in which CSG holds a 65% stake. Minority shareholder Promet Tools blocked a planned capital increase that required an 80% supermajority. CSG owner Michal Strnad responded by extending a large loan through his private vehicle Ytara SPV — a move that needed only a simple majority at the general meeting. Promet Tools has vowed legal action, while CSG chief executive Kristijan Fiket has dismissed the allegations as groundless. The dispute has drawn in STV INVEST, which aims to acquire half of Promet Tools; the European Commission is reviewing the deal under a simplified procedure, and both Tatra and its parent are fighting the entry.
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Operationally, the group remains on a solid footing despite the distractions. First-quarter revenue rose nearly 14% to €1.54 billion, while operating profit climbed to €372 million, leaving the margin steady at 24%. The order book swelled to €17 billion by March. Performance across divisions was mixed: defence systems revenue surged 26% to €1.25 billion, but ammunition sales dropped a fifth to €291 million, dragged down by weak small-calibre demand.
Investors will have to wait until the August 2026 half-year report to see whether the US strategy is delivering measurable results and to hear management’s detailed account of the Tatra standoff. For now, the stock’s tentative stabilisation around the €12 floor offers some comfort, but the twin uncertainties of a hostile minority shareholder and a long-shot artillery pitch to the Pentagon mean volatility is unlikely to fade anytime soon.
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