Prague, May 5, 2026, 16:08 CEST
Czechoslovak Group moved to reassure investors on Tuesday after a short-seller report questioned the Czech arms maker’s ammunition production story and triggered its worst trading day since a January listing in Amsterdam. CSG shares closed down 13.1% on Monday after falling as much as 26% intraday, Reuters reported.
The dispute lands at a sensitive time. CSG has become a high-profile name in Europe’s rearmament trade, supplying ammunition and military equipment as Ukraine keeps burning through shells and NATO states try to refill depleted stocks. MarketScreener data showed CSG trading at €15.90 on Tuesday, down 0.62%, after closing at €16.00 on Monday.
Hunterbrook Media, whose affiliated fund disclosed a short position in CSG shares, alleged that the company relies more heavily on “recommissioning” than investors may understand. Recommissioning means buying older ammunition, repairing or upgrading it, and putting it back into use. Hunterbrook said its review pointed to 155 mm output of 100,000 to 280,000 rounds, well below the roughly half-million rounds it said could be inferred from the company’s prospectus. HUNTERBROOK
CSG rejected the report. In a Tuesday statement, the company said its 2025 own-production capacity was about 630,000 medium- and large-calibre rounds, and that Hunterbrook had misunderstood a distributed manufacturing network spread across several facilities and countries. CSG also reaffirmed plans to raise own production by about 20% this year, including 70,000 rounds from a new Slovak line, and said a €58 billion Slovak framework was potential seven-year value, not committed orders.
The January IPO had been sold into a strong defence market. CSG raised up to €3.8 billion in what Reuters called a record defence-company listing, with shares priced at €25 and closing their first day at €32.85. Andrea Scauri, portfolio manager at Lemanik, told Reuters then there was “very strong appetite for defence names” as European governments lifted military budgets after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Reuters
The competitive comparison is part of the problem. Investors’ Chronicle said broker Jefferies noted that CSG had disclosed 50% to 60% of medium- and large-calibre ammunition revenue came from recommissioning and partnerships, and expected that share to fall to 10% to 20% over the medium term as in-house production rises. The same report cited Rheinmetall as a leading player in Europe’s restocking effort, with plans to lift large-calibre output above 1.6 million rounds by 2027.
The allegations go beyond factory output. Brussels Signal reported that the claims also centred on CSG’s role in the Czech Ammunition Initiative for Ukraine, alleged mark-ups on Soviet-era stockpiles, a NATO procurement suspension involving a Spanish plant, and a minority-shareholder dispute over a claimed €1.4 billion put option. CSG denies profiteering and has said past Russian-linked business was wound down after the 2022 invasion.
CSG’s own numbers show why investors care. The company reported 2025 revenue of €6.74 billion, adjusted operating EBIT of €1.63 billion and net debt of €3.00 billion, with a €15 billion order backlog and €27 billion pipeline under negotiation. It has guided for 2026 revenue of €7.4 billion to €7.6 billion and said first-quarter results will be released on May 20.
The risk cuts both ways. XTB wrote that if Hunterbrook’s claims were confirmed, the issue would not simply be capacity but the durability of a business model tied to resale and refurbishment, especially if available stockpiles keep shrinking. But XTB also noted that Hunterbrook is not neutral, given the short position, and said the company’s fuller explanations still matter.
For now, the fight is about definitions, documents and trust. CSG says the prospectus and post-IPO disclosures stand. Hunterbrook says the public story does not match the operating footprint. The next hard check is whether CSG can show rising in-house output, cleaner cash conversion and enough order visibility to keep the January IPO case intact.
