website maker “We got off to a good start in the financial year,” said Dietmar Siemssen, CEO of Gerresheimer AG. “Our high value products and solutions for biotech and pharma companies saw significant growth in the first quarter. The order books are full. We are well on our way to achieving our targets for 2021. The achievements which are now becoming visible, confirm the effectiveness of our growth strategy, which will continue to roll out systematically.”
In the first quarter of 2021, Gerresheimer Group generated revenues of 303 million EUR. Revenues in core business increased organically by 3.1% year on year. The Plastics & Devices Division grew organically by 3.0% in the first quarter of 2021, thanks in particular to the syringes business and the demand for pharmaceutical plastic packaging. Currency-adjusted sales were up 3.2% year on year in the Primary Packaging Glass Division, even though the cosmetics business in the Moulded Glass Business Unit continued to feel the negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The pharma business benefited in the first quarter from growing demand for high value solutions and products such as Gx RTF syringe systems, Gx Elite Glass and Gx RTF Vials, particularly for biopharmaceuticals.
The Company continued to expand its production capacities for manufacturing injection vials for Covid-19 vaccines in the first quarter of 2021. By doing so, the Company is reaffirming its responsibility and making an important contribution to combating the pandemic by supplying glass vials to be filled with vaccines.
Adjusted EBITDA stood at 54 million EUR in the first quarter of 2021. In the core business, adjusted EBITDA rose organically by 7.0% year on year to 57 million EUR. The adjusted EBITDA margin in the core business amounted to 19.0%. The adjusted net income was 18 million EUR, resulting in adjusted earnings per share of 0.57 EUR with an increase of organically 29.3% (32.6 % as reported) compared to the same quarter in the prior year.
Forecast
Outlook for the financial year 2021 (core business, currency-adjusted):
- Revenues growth in the mid single-digit percentage range
- Adjusted EBITDA margin between 22% and 23%
- Adjusted earnings per share in euros to increase by at least 10%
Medium term (core business, net of currency effects):
- Revenues growth in the high single-digit percentage range
- Adjusted EBITDA margin of around 23%
- Adjusted earnings per share in euros to increase by at least 10% per year
The Quarterly Statement for the first quarter of 2021 is available here.