(new: more details and background)
MAINZ (dpa-AFX) - Now it's officially announced: The pharmaceutical division of Mainz-based specialty glass manufacturer Schott is to be floated on the stock exchange by the end of this year. Trading of the shares on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange is to begin depending on the capital market environment, the company announced on Wednesday.
Schott Pharma produces, among other things, syringes made of glass and special glass plastic, ampoules and vials for the medical sector - that is, containers for medicines or vaccines. The division, which will be spun off in August 2022, has recently benefited from strong growth in drugs administered by injection, such as mRNA-based agents or those used to treat diabetes and obesity.
Company CEO Andreas Reisse said that last year more than half of all new drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) were injectable. Schott Pharma is ideally positioned in this market, he said. Its main competitors include Düsseldorf-based Gerresheimer and Stevanato of Italy, both of which are already listed on the bourse.
Schott had announced its exit from the stock exchange some time ago, but always stressed that it needed the right time to do so. 2022 was a difficult year for borse exits because of the Ukraine war, inflation and key interest rate hikes. Now the environment is positive, Reisse said.
According to the company, the Borsengang is to include only existing ordinary shares of the current sole shareholder - Schott subsidiary Schott Glaswerke Beteiligungs- und Export GmbH. The Schott Group is to remain the majority owner of the pharmaceuticals division - at what share was not initially said. Earlier, the parent company had announced its intention to hold at least 70 percent.
Schott Pharma hopes that the Borsengang will give it better access to the capital market and to financing opportunities than under the Schott AG foundation model. The company explained that the proximity to its headquarters in Mainz was decisive for the move to Frankfurt. In contrast, vaccine manufacturer Biontech, also based in Mainz, had gone public in New York.
In fiscal 2022, Schott Pharma posted sales of 821 million euros. In the first nine months of fiscal 2023, earnings rose by 8.4 percent year-on-year to 670 million euros. In the medium term, the manufacturer, which has around 4700 employees worldwide, is aiming for annual sales growth of more than ten percent.
In addition to its headquarters in Mainz, the company also has an important production site in Müllheim, Baden. Schott Pharma has a total of 16 production units in 14 countries. The parent company Schott is wholly owned by the Carl Zeiss Foundation, which is based in Heidenheim in Baden-Württemberg and Jena in Thuringia./chs/DP/jha
