Grifols reassured the market this morning about its large debt, stating that it is working on the issuance of senior secured debt to refinance debt maturing in 2025. Despite facing nearly 2.8 billion euros in bonds and bank debt, with significant payments due in February and May next year, Grifols reiterated its plan to sell 20% of its stake in SRAAS to the Haier Group for 1.8 billion dollars, with the operation expected to close before the end of June.
Initially, the net financial debt reported by Grifols at the end of 2023 was 9,416 million euros. However, a report from the National Securities Market Commission highlighted twenty areas for improvement, including debt accounting, which led to an increase in the reported debt to over 10,500 million euros. This, along with changes in how rents are accounted for, caused the leverage ratio to rise from 6.3 times to 8.4 times.
Despite these concerns about its debt levels, Grifols’ shares rose more than 2% in trading today, reaching over 9.6 euros per share-the highest price seen in a month-indicating that investors may be responding positively to Grifols’ plans to address its debt and strategic partnerships like selling its stake in SRAAS and refinancing its maturing debt through senior secured loans.
