Grifols presents its annual accounts
Grifols has published this Friday its consolidated annual accounts for the year 2023, including the statement of non-financial information, with an ‘unqualified’ opinion from its auditor KPMG, as the company has informed the National Commission of the Stock Market (CNMV). At the opening of the Stock Exchange this Friday, the Catalan multinational soared more than 10%.
Annual accounts and key issues
KPMG does not express exceptions in the audit of Grifols but it does affect two key issues that have been put under the magnifying glass in the last two months: the goodwill and the sale of 20% of Shanghai RAAS for about 1.6 billion d euros and their future commitments. In both cases, the information gathered and the company’s responses were satisfactory to the auditor, who has not noted other issues reported by Gotham, such as the relationships between Scranton and Grifols and their subsidiaries.
KPMG’s opinion and the change of auditor
The big four does include a paragraph of emphasis in what is its latest analysis of Grifols, which has already announced a change of auditor for the accounts of this 2024. However, this emphasis, which does not mean a exception, is in relation to the actions of the CNMV, to gather that ‘it has made several requests for information to the group, to which it has given a complete response’ and that ‘on the date of issue of the audit report, has not expressed a conclusion’.
The consolidated annual accounts and the JV with ImmunoTek
The consolidated annual accounts include the integration of the JV with ImmunoTek, ‘aligning the accounting treatment with the essence of the contract, which was last modified in June 2023’, so the operation ‘has no impact on the profit and loss account’ neither in the leverage ratio nor in the cash flows.
Purchase of shares by members of the board of directors
This Thursday, three of the most significant members of the Grifols board of directors, Thomas Glanzmann, Raimon Grifols and Tomàs Dagà, bought 182,000 shares worth 1.2 million euros, a gesture of ‘trust in the company’ , pointed out from the company, in addition to responding to the constant bearish attacks of Gotham City Research and other firms.
Gotham attacks and KPMG’s opinion
The bearish fund has launched three offensives against the Catalan company (January 9, February 20 and March 6) and has warned in its latest attack that Haema and BPC, subsidiaries of Grifols, would have a financing agreement with the ‘ family office’ Scranton, which appears in its accounts in ‘other assets for related operations’, which has led, again, to the bearish fund to question the commitment of the hemoderivatives firm ‘to transparency, integrity and ethical conduct’.
