Gerresheimer's Financial Overhaul: Asset Sale and Index Exit Loom Amid Accounting Crisis

Gerresheimer plans sale of profitable Centor unit to shore up finances amid accounting probe, impairment charges, and imminent SDAX index removal.

The packaging specialist Gerresheimer is implementing drastic measures to address persistent accounting issues that have destabilized its financial foundation. In a bid to shore up its balance sheet, the group plans to divest its highly profitable US subsidiary, Centor. Concurrently, the company faces an inevitable removal from the SDAX index due to the delayed audited financial statements for 2025.

Forced Asset Sale to Secure Financing

Management has appointed Morgan Stanley to oversee the sale of the wholly-owned Centor unit. This segment, specializing in packaging for prescription pharmaceuticals, was carried on the books at a value of 292 million euros at the end of 2024. Proceeds from the disposal are considered a critical component for ongoing negotiations with lenders.

This move coincides with the need to record substantial impairment charges totaling between 220 and 240 million euros. These write-downs primarily relate to technology projects at Sensile Medical AG and the Moulded-Glass plant in Chicago Heights, slated for closure by the end of 2026. Production from that facility will be relocated to sites in Italy and India.

Regulatory Scrutiny and Shareholder Actions

The root of the current crisis lies in the systematic premature recognition of revenue from so-called bill-and-hold agreements. Auditors KPMG and Grant Thornton are currently reviewing the financial statements for 2024 and 2025, with a publication target now set for June 2026. Germany's financial regulator, BaFin, has also expanded an investigation initiated in September 2025, following the discovery of further IFRS violations.

On the shareholder front, pushback is growing. The DSW shareholder association is examining potential damage claims against former executives. Meanwhile, some investors, such as the CastleKnight Master Fund, are viewing the depressed share price as an entry opportunity.

Index Exit and Operational Uncertainties

The postponement of the annual report beyond the March 31, 2026 deadline seals the company's exit from the SDAX. This demotion will force mandatory portfolio adjustments by index funds, likely creating additional selling pressure on the shares. The profound uncertainty is already starkly visible in the stock's performance: it has plummeted more than 71% over the past twelve months, currently trading at 21.20 euros.

Amid the restructuring, operational hopes are pinned on the GLP-1 drug market. Gerresheimer supplies the complex dual-chamber pen system for Novo Nordisk's CagriSema drug, which anticipates FDA approval by the end of 2026. Until the audited accounts are presented in June, the current annual revenue forecast of 2.3 to 2.4 billion euros remains provisional. The outcomes of the BaFin probe and the successful completion of the Centor sale will be the decisive factors for the group's financial stabilization in the coming months.