Investors were rewarded with a strong premium on the first day of trading for Schott Pharma’s IPO on Thursday. After the initial price of 30 euros for the papers, it went a little higher to 31.30 euros at the close of trading. This meant an increase of 15.9 percent compared to the issue price of 27 euros. This was in the upper half of the price range of 24.50 to 28.50 euros.
The shares of the pharmaceutical division of the Mainz-based specialty glass manufacturer Schott were traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange for the first time on Thursday. The first price was given at 9:17 a.m. in Frankfurt as 30.00 euros per piece, after which company boss Andreas Reisse and CFO Almuth Steinkuhler rang the stock exchange bell. It is the largest German IPO so far this year.
Stock marketers were very satisfied with Schott Pharma’s first day of trading. “Especially in the current rather difficult overall market environment, the shares can hold their own well above the placement price of 27 euros,” said market observer Andreas Lipkow. Experts see Schott Pharma riding a wave around important megatrends in the pharmaceutical industry: these include, above all, mRNA active ingredients and so-called GLP-1 drugs. Experts predict a major boom for both technologies.
Reisse spoke of a new chapter in the history of the division, which was spun off in 2022 and produces glass tubes, vials and syringes for pharmaceuticals and benefits from the rapidly growing business with injectable drugs.
Greater business flexibility and visibility
“It is the right time for us, the market is stable and we have received very positive feedback from investors,” said Steinkuehler to the German Press Agency. Going public brings greater entrepreneurial flexibility – “and visibility – in the market, but also among employees. And it gives us access to the capital market. With such a price increase, it’s a great start for us.”
In the 2022 financial year, Schott Pharma achieved sales of 821 million euros. In the first nine months of the 2023 financial year, revenue increased by 8.4 percent to 670 million euros compared to the same period last year.
In addition to its headquarters in Mainz, the company has an important production site in Müllheim, Baden. According to the company, Schott Pharma operates a total of 16 production sites in 14 countries. The mother Schott is 100 percent owned by the Carl Zeiss Foundation, based in Heidenheim in Baden-Württemberg and Jena in Thuringia.
Glaswerke Beteiligungs- und Export GmbH remains the majority owner
Schott Pharma had announced its IPO some time ago, but postponed it to 2022 due to the war in Ukraine, inflation and key interest rate increases. The company consciously decided to go public in Frankfurt, taking a different path than the vaccine manufacturer Biontech, which is also based in Mainz and is listed in the USA. The sandal manufacturer Birkenstock, which comes from Linz am Rhein in Rhineland-Palatinate, will also go public on the other side of the Atlantic.
The previous sole shareholder, the Schott subsidiary Glaswerke Beteiligungs- und Export GmbH, will remain the majority owner of Schott Pharma with at least 77 percent of the share capital. Schott Pharma was able to attract Qatar Holding as an anchor investor, which acquired shares worth 200 million euros and thus holds 4.9 percent.
CFO Steinkuehler said that, especially at the beginning, we would look at the development of the share price every day. “But what’s important for us is the big trend.”
