Strnad said contracts with Poland’s HSW and Dezamet worth more than €250 million combined had taken CSG’s partnership with Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa to a strategic level. He said CSG would also play a central role in a programme to equip the Latvian Armed Forces, with its MORANA howitzer at the centre.
Third-quarter revenue fell to €1.5 billion from €1.7 billion a year earlier, while operating EBIT dropped to €317 million from €401 million. Delivery timing, particularly in Land Systems, pushed some revenue into the fourth quarter.
“Timing and business mix shaped the third quarter,” Strnad, who is also CSG’s chairman, said in the trading statement. “Revenue we expected in Q3 will now be delivered in Q4.”
For the first nine months, revenue rose 6.1% to €4.8 billion, with Defence Systems sales up 9.5%. Operating EBIT edged up 0.4% to €1.1 billion, giving the group a margin of 23.1%.
CSG cut its full-year operating EBIT margin forecast to about 21% from 24–25% after accelerating sales of standard-range ammunition from stock at lower market prices as demand shifted to longer-range rounds. The forecast also reflects expected strong year-end growth in Land Systems, where margins are still building as programmes ramp up.
Nearly all the ammunition CSG made in-house in the third quarter was of the extended-range type, Strnad said. He said the shift to making all extended-range ammunition in-house through a vertically integrated supply chain would help CSG meet its medium-term operating EBIT margin target.
“Full in-house production of energetics by the end of 2027 is our main driver of future margin growth,” Strnad said. “We’re on track to reach that goal, alongside production capacity of 1.1 million rounds by the same date.”
Longer lead times for extended-range ammunition and land systems are pushing some deliveries into 2027, delaying the release of cash tied up in working capital. CSG now expects net working capital to be below 35% of 2026 revenue, compared with its previous forecast of below 20%.
