Gerresheimer cuts 2025 outlook on weak demand, shares fall

(Reuters) -German packaging and medical equipment maker Gerresheimer on Monday cut its revenue and profit margin guidance for this year, citing weakness in cosmetics and liquid medications markets and sending its shares plunging.

Shares in the company, which said in February it was in early stage talks with private equity investors about a possible sale, dropped as much as 20.8%. It did not mention the sale talks in its statement.

Gerresheimer, which makes rounded jars for creams and roll-on bottles for deodorants, said it now expects revenues to increase by between 1% and 2% this year, down from its previous estimate of 3-5%.

It also lowered its expected margin on adjusted earnings before interest, tax and amortisation to 20%, from 22% before.

The company's shares were down 18.71% at 1022 GMT, at the bottom of Europe's benchmark STOXX 600 index and on track for their worst day since December 2008.

Slowing demand for personal care and beauty products has weighed on consumer goods companies, as shoppers rein in spending on discretionary items amid global trade tensions that have sparked fears of higher inflation and recession.

Gerresheimer also cut its 2024 dividend to 0.04 euros ($0.0457) per share from the 1.25 euros proposed in February in an effort to maintain financial flexibility, it said.

The company still expects a low single-digit percentage rise in revenues in the second quarter of the year, and a significant pick up in growth in the second half of the year.

"Our long-term growth prospects remain positive, particularly for containment solutions and drug delivery systems for biologics, including the GLP-1 business," CEO Dietmar Siemssen said in a statement, referring to a popular class of weight-loss drugs.

Gerresheimer makes the types of pens needed to inject weight-loss drugs such as Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Siemssen said in April it was looking to expand revenues from GLP-1 obesity drugs.

($1 = 0.8750 euros)

(Reporting by Isabel Demetz. Editing by Friederike Heine and Mark Potter)