The president of Grifols, Thomas Glanzmann, has declared in a meeting with investors that the Gotham City Research report that questions its accounting is “absolutely wrong” and that its accusations “are false and speculative.” “It takes old information, which had already been publicly communicated and had been reviewed and approved by regulators and the auditor, in order to suggest irregularities, for its speculative interest.” Glanzmann was “proud” of Grifols’ governance, but he was also committed to improving it. His intervention, however, did not convince the financial markets. The stock closed with a drop of 16%, to 9.89 euros, after having risen 12% on Wednesday.
Glanzmann held a meeting with financial analysts, in which he explained that the CNMV has requested more information from the company about the operations that Gotham denounces, and especially about the relations with Scranton, an investment holding company of the Grifols family. Glanzmann assured that he will send the information “as soon as possible”, for which he has a period of 10 days.
The president of the company, accused by Gotham of “being a Grifols in everything except name,” explained that Scranton is a traditional shareholder of Grifols and has always supported the company. “It brings together 22 investors of which only three are family members,” he said, and it only has two business relationships with the pharmaceutical company: it is the owner of the Grifols headquarters in Sant Cugat and other properties in the group, for which it pays 6, 3 million euros annually “a market income”, and the owner also of Biotest and Haema, the two companies that Gotham puts in its sights.
Glanzmann, as well as the group’s financial director, Alfredo Arroyo, assured that the consolidation of both companies is carried out in accordance with international accounting standards and therefore has been endorsed year after year by the auditors.
Arroyo assured that, contrary to Gotham’s report, both companies only contribute 30 million euros to the group’s operating profit or ebitda (which this year is expected to reach 1,450 million euros). In the accounting adjustments of the consolidation, Arroyo added, the part of the profit corresponding to the shares that are not owned by the group is subtracted, so in both cases it is reduced to 100%, while in the case of the American subsidiary Grifols Diagnostic Solutions, which also disputes Gotham’s report, is reducing the portion it does not control to 45%.
For this reason, Arroyo pointed out, the income of the plasma center companies is consolidated by Scranton in its accounts, thus refuting the latest attack carried out by the vulture fund this morning, in a post on the X network (Twitter), which mocked what he considered double attribution of income.
Glanzmann assured that the firm does not plan to purchase the assets of these companies, nor does it contemplate changes in its relations with Scranton.
In Arroyo’s opinion, “the best argument against bearish attacks is the improvement of operations and the growth of operating profit and the reduction of debt.” However, Glanzmann insisted that the firm will initiate legal action against Gotham City. “We will not allow the damage they have done to the company, the shareholders and all of its stakeholders to go unanswered.”
