Grifols reported a €108.2 million loss for the January-to-March period, even as revenue rose by as much as 23% to €1,561 million. This outcome contrasts with a €53.3 million profit recorded in the same stretch a year earlier. The company attributed the losses to restructuring costs tied to its transformation plan, which totals €140 million. Grifols has also faced notable declines in its stock market value over the past year, a reflection of changes in its management structure. In February, the board announced a leadership change: Steven F. Mayer was replaced by Thomas Glanzmann. The official rationale cited health and personal reasons that hindered Mayer from leading the company’s compliance program, a program that could have resulted in the layoff of about 2,300 workers worldwide.
From an obscure laboratory focusing on blood therapies, Grifols has evolved into a major multinational listed on the stock market. The company expanded aggressively through acquisitions and international growth. In April 2022, Grifols completed the acquisition of the German firm Biotest for €1.413 billion. The resulting debt level surpassed €9 billion, roughly nine times EBITDA. A market observer noted that within Ibex, Grifols is among the most indebted companies and must reduce leverage to align with its activity and earnings. This viewpoint comes from an analyst at Link Securities.
The company emphasizes that it has reduced leverage in the latest financial note. It highlights that adjusted operating cash flow remains positive and liquidity stands at €1,300 million. Grifols stated it aims to bring leverage down to around 4.0x in 2024 and continues to work toward that goal.
adjusted net profit
Grifols reported an adjusted net profit of €26 million for its core blood products business. The group also pointed to solid results in the Biopharma division, which posted revenue growth of about 26.2% in the first quarter to €1,291 million. Thomas Glanzmann, Grifols’ chairman and newly appointed CEO, described the quarter as solid despite a challenging macroeconomic environment and emphasized the strength of the company’s underlying business.
He noted that the company is advancing ongoing efficiency measures and is working to improve the cost base associated with plasma collection. The governance simplification and the new leadership structure are integral parts of the ongoing transformation and are expected to sustain progress.
On the earnings side, adjusted gross operating profit (EBITDA), which excludes non-recurring restructuring costs of €140 million, reached €298.8 million, yielding an EBITDA margin of 21% excluding Biotest and 19.3% when Biotest is included. Grifols’ guidance for adjusted EBITDA suggested continued improvement in the first half of the year, with projections exceeding 21% in the period and reaching 22–24% for the full year. The company had increased the full-year adjusted EBITDA target to above €1,400 million and reported completion of more than 80% of its initial €400 million cost-saving program, with the impact raised to more than €450 million.