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Lubawa SA (LBW.WA)
Industri · Försvar/tekniska textilier · niche · LTM Q1 2026
Analysis date: 2026-07-15
Price at analysis: PLN 11.86
Method: mttssn_streamlined_v1
Conviction: MEDIUM
BUY
Conviction: MEDIUM
A debt-free Polish defense / technical-textiles maker earning 34% adjusted ROIC against an 8% WACC — +PLN 99m Economic Profit — at just 11.9x EV/NOPAT, with 20%+ growth and a PLN 586m contract announced. Cheap for the quality, but the elite return is a defense-cycle peak on single-country, single-buyer (MON) demand. BUY, medium conviction; base PLN 14.0.
Adj. ROIC
34.1%
WACC 8% → spread +26.1pp
Economic Profit
+PLN 99M
+PLN 99m Economic Profit; adjusted ROIC 34.1% vs 8% WACC = +26.1pp spread on a PLN 381m capital base.
FCF Yield
n/a
FCF null in record; EBIT PLN 160m LTM with light capex (leases only PLN 2.5m, no material PP&E build) and net cash accumulating implies healthy positive cash conversion — qualitatively strong, not modelled.
Price / Target
PLN 12 → PLN 14
+18% base; BUY
Revenue (LTM)
PLN 646.1B
LTM revenue PLN 646m; FY2025 616.7m (+20.9%), Q1 2026 +27.3% YoY. Mix: special equipment 269m, fabrics 213m (main Q1 driver), advertising materials 123m.
EBIT Margin
24.8%
LTM EBIT margin 24.8% (FY2025 23.7%, +3.0pp YoY); Q1 2026 19.2% on mix/seasonality — reported EBIT clean, 0% APM divergence.
EV / IC
n/a
Enterprise value / invested capital
Net Debt
n/a
Net cash ~PLN 240m: IB debt PLN 41k vs PLN 138m cash + 175m deposits; debt-free, unlevered.
Thesis

Lubawa is a Polish special-equipment and technical-textiles group (bulletproof vests, camouflage/masking, fabrics, advertising materials) riding the multi-year Polish and European defense-spending buildout. Adjusted ROIC of 34.1% against an 8% WACC produces genuine value creation — +PLN 99m Economic Profit on a PLN 381m capital base — with FY2025 revenue PLN 616.7m (+20.9%) and Q1 2026 up +27.3% YoY.

The balance sheet is a fortress: debt-free, PLN 138m cash plus 175m in deposits, net cash of ~PLN 240m. That funds the order book without dilution and leaves M&A / capital-return optionality. Multi-year Agencja Uzbrojenia frameworks and the announced PLN 586m contract underwrite near-term backlog visibility.

The caveat is durability: technical textiles and special equipment are cyclical, and demand is concentrated in a single country and effectively a single buyer (MON procurement). The current 34% ROIC is a demand-cycle peak, not a durable franchise return — the moat is emerging (defense qualification) rather than entrenched, so this is a cheap cyclical, not a compounder.

Valuation · reverse-DCF & scenarios

At an enterprise value of PLN 1,541.8m against adjusted NOPAT of PLN 129.9m, Lubawa trades at 11.9x EV/NOPAT — inexpensive for a 34% ROIC, net-cash business growing 20%+. On through-cycle (not peak) margins the multiple is fuller, but even a modest re-rate plus the net-cash cushion supports upside from PLN 11.86.

Base PLN 14.0 (+18%) on a modest EV/NOPAT re-rate toward mid-teens as backlog converts and net cash is recognised; bull PLN 18.0 as contract wins land and 24% EBIT margins hold; bear PLN 8.5 if the defense cycle rolls over and margins normalise toward the high-teens.

Market-implied growth
≥-50.0%
model ceiling — EV implies more than constant-ROIC sustains
No-growth value / share
PLN 13,614
114789% of price; rest = priced-in growth
ROIC − WACC
+26.1 pp
ROIC 34.1% vs WACC 8.0% — positive = value creation
CAP (priced-in)
0.0 yrs
years of excess returns the price implies (fades to WACC)

At today’s enterprise value the constant-ROIC reverse-DCF maxes out: even at its sustainable-growth ceiling (~-50.0%, limited by ROIC 34% ≈ WACC 8%) it cannot reach the current EV. No-growth value is PLN 13,614/share (114789% of price); the market prices in growth and/or a higher ROIC than booked — richly valued on this lens. Read the sensitivity grid.

Scenario24m targetImpl. gUpsideProb.Driver
BullPLN 18≥-50%+52%30%Contract wins land; 24% EBIT margin holds
BasePLN 14≥-50%+18%45%Modest EV/NOPAT re-rate; backlog converts, net cash recognised
BearPLN 8≥-50%-28%25%Defense cycle rolls over; margins normalise to high-teens
Prob-weightedPLN 14+17%100%Scenario-weighted expected value

Sensitivity — fair value / share at WACC × growth

WACC \ g0%3%5%8%10%15%
6.50%18,57720,94222,66125,46927,50333,207
7.25%15,70517,62219,01321,28122,92127,506
8.00% (base)13,61415,20816,36318,24019,59623,375
8.75%12,02313,37414,35015,93417,07520,248
9.50%10,77211,93312,77014,12615,10017,802

Green = fair value above the current price of PLN 11.86. The reverse-DCF conclusion is dominated by WACC and growth — see the whole surface, not a single fair value.

Method & data. NOPAT PLN 129,898, invested capital and ROIC 34.1% are observed (adjustments.json); WACC 8.0% and terminal g 2.5% are assumptions. EV→equity uses net debt PLN -240. The model holds ROIC constant (no fade) over the explicit horizon; the CAP figure instead fades excess returns to WACC.

⤓ Download the full model (.xlsx) — formula-driven sheets; flex the blue input cells and the model cascades in Excel.

Key drivers

1. 34% ROIC, net cash

Adjusted ROIC 34.1% vs 8% WACC with a debt-free, PLN 240m net-cash balance sheet — genuine capital efficiency.

2. Defense-spending buildout

Polish/NATO budgets create structural multi-year demand for special equipment and defense fabrics.

3. PLN 586m contract + backlog

Announced large contract plus multi-year Agencja Uzbrojenia frameworks give near-term revenue visibility.

4. Cheap on EV/NOPAT

11.9x EV/NOPAT for a 20%+ grower with net cash — a real valuation gap if margins hold.

5. Capital-return optionality

Idle net cash could fund dividends, buybacks or bolt-on M&A once a policy is articulated.

Key risks
Conclusion

Lubawa pairs elite current returns (34% ROIC, +PLN 99m EP) and a net-cash balance sheet with a cheap 11.9x EV/NOPAT and 20%+ growth — a genuine value-plus-growth setup on the Polish/European defense buildout. BUY, medium conviction; base target PLN 14.0 (+18%).

Conviction is capped by cyclicality and single-buyer concentration: the moat is emerging, not durable, and the return is a cycle peak. A stated capital-return policy for the net-cash pile, or evidence margins hold through an order lull, would support an upgrade.

Footnote evidence & sources

Every adjustment traces to the cited note/page in the source filing — click to open it there. Latest interim: 📄 open

Adjustment / figureValueSourceWhy mttssn treats it this way
LTM revenue (FY2025 616,736 - Q1'25 107,620 + Q1'26 136,964 = 646,080)646,080Consolidated statement of comprehensive income p.5 (FY) + Q1 report p.6LTM revenue rebuilt from FY anchor and both Q1 periods; defense/textiles-driven +27% Q1 YoY.
Reported operating profit EBIT (LTM 160,368)160,368Wynik z działalności operacyjnej, IS p.5 (FY) + p.6 (Q1)Reported EBIT taken as adjusted EBIT — no restructuring, impairment or one-offs found; company discloses no adjusted-EBIT APM.
Total equity 612,138 (parent 611,641; NCI 497) at 31.03.2026612,138Skonsolidowane sprawozdanie z sytuacji finansowej, Q1 report p.4 📄 p.4IC snapshot uses latest interim balance sheet; equity_ex_oci after stripping 2,793 reserve.
Cash 61,689 + other short-term financial assets (deposits) 180,000 at 31.03.2026241,689Środki pieniężne + Inne krótkoterminowe aktywa finansowe, BS p.4 📄 p.4Debt-free, cash-rich; 180m bank deposits treated as excess (non-operating) cash and stripped from IC.
Interest-bearing debt 41; lease liabilities 2,536 at 31.03.202641Kredyty, pożyczki i inne zobowiązania finansowe + Zobowiązania z tytułu leasingu, BS p.4 📄 p.4Essentially unlevered; leases office/vehicle, excluded from IC.
Capitalised R&D (completed development costs) net 12,684; FY2025 amortisation 4,88412,684Aktywa niematerialne note (Note 2), intangibles roll-forwardR&D-cap-rate modest; carrying asset kept on balance sheet, amortisation kept in opex — no adjustment.
Quality · Buffett tenets10 / 15
Understandable business
Polish defense / technical-textiles group: special equipment (PLN 269m), fabrics (213m), advertising materials (123m). Comprehensible product lines, but a three-segment mix whose economics are dominated by state defense procurement.
Durable moat
[immateriella: defense-qualification/reglering · emerging/mid-cycle] Multi-year Agencja Uzbrojenia frameworks (GRYF bulletproof vests, camouflage/masking) show a real MON qualification barrier; observed test: PLN 586m contract announced + multi-year backlog. But single-country / single-buyer (MON) demand and the 34% ROIC is a demand-cycle peak, so scored on a mid-cycle spread, not the peak. Falsifierare: Polish/NATO defense budget cut or loss of an Agencja Uzbrojenia framework.
Management & capital allocation
[allokering · candor] Debt-free discipline: IB debt PLN 41k, PLN 138m cash + 175m deposits; reported EBIT clean (0% APM divergence — no adjusted-EBIT games). Röd flagga: PLN 240m net-cash pile with no dividend paid in the period and no articulated capital-return policy — idle capital / M&A risk not yet addressed.
Financial strength & returns
Adjusted ROIC 34.1% vs 8% WACC = a +26.1pp spread and +PLN 99m Economic Profit; net cash (net debt −PLN 240m), essentially unlevered. Genuinely strong current returns and balance sheet.
Valuation margin of safety
EV/NOPAT PLN 1,541.8m / 129.9m = 11.9x for a 34% ROIC, 20%+ grower with net cash — cheap on the face. Margin of safety tempered because NOPAT sits on peak defense-cycle margins; through-cycle the multiple is less generous.