Gerresheimer's Divergent Paths: US Automation Advances as German Audit Crisis Deepens
Published on 06/15/2026 at 17:13 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
Gerresheimer is forging ahead with a $180 million bet on US manufacturing automation even as the German pharmaceutical packaging specialist struggles to deliver a certified financial statement that will determine its credibility with investors and lenders.
The company recently brought two automated pallet warehouses online at its Peachtree City site, 40 kilometers south of Atlanta. Built in partnership with storage specialist Mecalux, each 13-meter-tall facility holds 1,104 pallets and supports the production of inhalers, autoinjectors, infusion system components and microinjectors. The upgrade is part of a broader expansion launched in 2024 that adds roughly 17,900 square meters of cleanroom space and more than 400 jobs.
But across the Atlantic, the picture could hardly be more different. Gerresheimer owes its shareholders a certified annual report for 2024 — already months overdue — and regulators are circling. The original end-of-February deadline has been pushed back repeatedly, and the company now aims to publish the accounts in June. Both its annual general meeting and first-quarter results have been cancelled. For institutional investors, the absence of a signed audit opinion makes the stock untouchable.
The crisis stems from EUR 35 million in improper revenue bookings that KPMG, which replaced Deloitte as auditor in 2024, nonetheless blessed with an unqualified opinion. Germany's financial regulator BaFin and the audit oversight body APAS have both opened investigations into KPMG's work. Separately, shareholder protection group DSW has commissioned a legal opinion on the liability of former CEO Dietmar Siemssen and former CFO Bernd Metzner, as well as certain supervisory board members. DSW managing director Marc Tüngler has warned that the probability of a litigation funder stepping in will rise as more breaches come to light.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Gerresheimer?
The market's response has been telling. Connor, Clark & Lunn Investment Management trimmed its net short position on June 10 from 0.79% to 0.68% — a roughly 14% reduction. The move is modest and does not signal a broader retreat; overall short interest remains elevated. The stock's ejection from the SDAX small-cap index in April removed a key source of passive demand, making it easier for short sellers to build and maintain positions.
Meanwhile, Gerresheimer is pressing ahead with one divestiture that could unlock cash. The US subsidiary Centor Inc., carried on the books at EUR 292 million at the end of 2024, has drawn a double-digit number of potential buyers in a process advised by Morgan Stanley. A sale is expected to close this year.
Lenders have bought the company some breathing room by suspending key leverage covenants until the third quarter of 2026, a sign that creditors are aware of the situation and willing to wait for clarity.
Gerresheimer at a turning point? This analysis reveals what investors need to know now.
For the full year 2026, management targets revenue of EUR 2.3 billion to EUR 2.4 billion, an adjusted EBITDA margin of 18% to 19% and moderately positive free cash flow — all contingent on a favorable outcome from the BaFin probe.
The stock recently traded at EUR 25.46, more than 70% above its 12-month low of EUR 14.90 but still nearly 50% below the 52-week high. Whether that gap narrows or widens will depend on whether the audit opinion due in June marks a genuine turning point — or another chapter in an expanding crisis.
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