Gerresheimer Q1 Earnings Call Highlights

Gerresheimer (ETR:GXI) reported preliminary first-quarter 2026 results that showed modest revenue growth but lower earnings as the packaging and drug-delivery company prioritized cash preservation, reduced capital spending and limited inventory buildup. Revenue increased by €5 million year over year, while adjusted EBITDA declined by €15 million. Free cash flow before mergers and acquisitions improved by nearly €110 million to negative €32 million, which Chief Financial Officer Wolf Lehmann said was the company’s best first-quarter cash flow result since 2019. Management said the first quarter is typically its weakest period of the year and that production adjustments aimed at controlling inventory temporarily reduced capacity utilization and earnings, particularly in the Moulded Glass business. The company expects results to improve through the year, with the second half stronger than the first half.

Portfolio sales and refinancing plans Gerresheimer has signed agreements to sell its Centor and Primary Packaging Plastics, or PPP, businesses to an affiliate of funds advised by Apax Partners. The transaction covers 15 PPP production sites in nine countries and Centor’s U.S. production site, and is based on an enterprise value of about €1.5 billion. The company expects the Centor transaction to close by November 2026 and the PPP sale to close in the first half of 2027. Management said proceeds from the divestitures are expected to reduce leverage to below three times net debt to EBITDA on a sustainable basis. Lehmann said Gerresheimer had net financial debt of close to €2 billion and liquidity of €342 million at the end of the quarter. The company is working with Lazard and its lenders on a full debt refinancing, which it expects to complete in connection with the closing of the divestitures. Management also reiterated its intention to prepare the Moulded Glass segment for a sale, though it said more operational work is required before a divestiture can be completed. The company described its portfolio strategy as “grow, fix, sell,” with growth focused on Medical Systems, Syringe Systems and Tubular Glass North America; restructuring focused on Tubular Glass Europe; and Moulded Glass designated for improvement, carve-out and eventual sale.

Segment performance Containment & Delivery Systems reported organic revenue growth of 8.8%, with revenue rising to €296 million from €281 million a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA increased to €61 million from €51 million. The growth was led by Medical Systems, including the ramp-up of the Peachtree City facility and performance at Eastern European plants. PPP and Centor were broadly stable year over year. Achim Schalk, a member of Gerresheimer’s management board, said the company has seen quarter-to-quarter improvement at Peachtree City and recently recorded “record months.” He said the company expects the site’s second-quarter performance to exceed the first quarter and the second half to improve from the first half. In Primary Injectable Solutions, revenue rose to €101 million from €94 million, representing organic growth of 14.2%. Strong Syringe Systems growth more than offset lower revenue in Tubular Glass Europe and Asia. Adjusted EBITDA fell by €1 million to €6 million, reflecting lower contributions from the European and Asian tubular-glass operations. Gerresheimer has changed leadership in Tubular Glass Europe and started a restructuring plan centered on footprint optimization, operational improvements and selling, general and administrative cost reductions. Schalk said the European tubular-glass operation has a relatively complex footprint of smaller plants, while the business has performed more successfully in North America and China. Moulded Glass revenue declined to €144 million from €160 million, while adjusted.