German packaging and medical equipment maker Gerresheimer said that diabetes and diet drugs is expected to contribute 350 million euros ($376 million) of annual revenue by the 2026-27 financial year.,
The company’s CFO Bernd Metzner told Reuters that the sales of these products are expected to boost the sector after the company reported first-quarter results on Thursday.
According to a report by news agency Reuters, obesity drugs such as Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound are administered by injector pens such as those made by Gerresheimer.
Shares in Swiss rival Ypsomed surged in September after it announced a contract with Novo Nordisk for the “autoinjectors”, Reuters reported.
Analyst Victoria Lambert at Berenberg said the target seemed realistic given Gerresheimer’s production ramp-ups and contracts won so far, half of which were likely to cover Novo Nordisk’s GLP-1 agonist Cagrisema.
Gerresheimer’s first-quarter adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were up 3.7% year on year at 80.9 million euros ($86.9 million), matching the expectations of analysts polled by Vara Research, Reuters reported.
The plastics and devices business, which makes syringes, inhalers and injector pens, was up 26.5% at 59.3 million euros, thanks to higher sales and a profit margin that improved to 22.9% from 20.5% a year earlier.
Core profit at the glass packaging division, however, fell 14.5% to 34.8 million euros as destocking by pharmaceutical customers weighed on demand.
Gerresheimer reiterated the guidance it had issued at full-year results in February, confirming that it expects core profit of between 430 and 450 million euros for the year.
