Feb 25 - German financial regulator BaFin is expanding its probe into medical equipment maker Gerresheimer and starting a fresh audit into the company's 2025 half-yearly financial report, the company
BaFin Intensifies Investigation into Gerresheimer's Financial Practices
Feb 25 - Gerresheimer said on Wednesday that Germany's financial regulator BaFin is widening its probe into the company's financial statements, adding pressure on the medical products maker as it grapples with accounting issues and a plunging share price.
The expanded scrutiny comes as Gerresheimer conducts internal reviews of its accounting practices, faces a weakening financial outlook, and has undergone a leadership shake-up.
Delayed Financial Results and Expanded Probe
The company has also delayed its 2024 results, originally scheduled for February 26, citing these investigations.
BaFin is now expanding its probe into Gerresheimer's 2024 financial statements over issues including potentially misstated lease liabilities and a failure to recognise impairments in assets within its Advanced Technologies unit.
The regulator is also launching a separate audit into the company's 2025 half-yearly financial report, citing potentially outdated risk reporting, missing impairment charges and misstated bill-and-hold revenue, a practice in which revenue is recorded before goods are delivered.
Company's Response to Regulatory Audits
"The company will continue to cooperate fully with BaFin in the context of the audits in order to clarify the facts transparently," Gerresheimer said.
BaFin began its original audit last year, flagging concerns that the company may have recognised revenue from certain customer contracts before it was realised.
Former CEO Dietmar Siemssen has since left the company, while former CFO Bernd Metzner stepped down months earlier.
Impact on Gerresheimer's Market Performance
Gerresheimer's shares are down about 33% so far this year, after a 61% plunge in 2025.
($1 = 0.8470 euros)
(Reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh in Barcelona, Disha Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Chopra, Shinjini Ganguli and Tasim Zahid)
