Grifols is preparing to resume paying dividends in a new phase with Anne-Catherine Berner as its president.

Sant Cugat del VallèsGrifols plans to return to its dividend policy "as soon as possible." This was one of the messages delivered by the company's CEO, Nacho Abia, during the shareholders' meeting held at the group's headquarters in Sant Cugat del Vallès, which endorsed the accounts and agenda by a majority, many of the items with more than 99% of the votes. At the moment, the forecast is to pay the first dividends in more than four years this year, based on the 2024 results. The meeting debuted Anne-Catherine Berner as the new non-executive chairwoman, the first woman to hold that position in the group, who told shareholders that Grifols is "a strong company, with good results and records in key metrics." The new chairwoman highlighted that the company has overcome challenges such as the pandemic or the attacks carried out by Gotham City Research and stressed that the board of directors is now "more independent."

The meeting also served to ratify the support from funds that were critical of the management, such as Mason Capital, Sachem Head, and Flat Footed, which together account for over 8% of the company's capital. Along with the demands of the founding family, the Grífols, the company is working to return to normal after months of stock market turmoil caused by allegations of accounting irregularities by the hedge fund Gotham City Research, which are now before the courts.

Abia, who has been in the position for nearly a year, explained that Grifols achieved record revenues in 2024 (€7.212 billion, up 10.3%, as well as an adjusted operating result of €1.779 billion, up 24.7%) and reached significant levels. The debt ratio, one of the factors highlighted by the hedge fund Gotham City Research and which caused stock market declines since January of last year, has dropped from more than 6 times to 4.6.

New plant in Lliçà de Vall

Abia explained that Grifols' geographic diversification "mitigates uncertainties." In fact, the company relies on local production where it operates, so it does not anticipate any impact from the US government's tariffs. The strategic plan, the CEO added, calls for increasing revenue to €10 billion in five years and reducing the debt ratio by approximately three times. He also explained to shareholders that they plan to build a new plant on land they own in Lliçà de Vall (Vallès Oriental).

After a period marked by falling share price due to complaints from the hedge fund Gotham City Research over alleged irregular accounting practices, which ended up in court, the stock began to rise, above €10.

This has been helped by the fact that funds that were critical of the company's governance have supported the board of directors, after managing to place a representative, Paul S. Herendeen, on the company's governing body. A vote by the board has not been necessary because the three funds have presented themselves together, and this is an option that has been presented.

Abia, during the speech in which he stated that the intention is to return to the dividend policy "as soon as possible," stated that they are also studying other ways of remunerating shareholders, such as share buybacks, a very widespread method currently.

For his part, the company's vice president, Raimon Grifols, highlighted the vertical integration process the company has been undergoing since 2006, led by Thomas Glanzmann, who is leaving the presidency and the group after nineteen years as a director. He also welcomed Anne-Catherine Berner as non-executive president, the first woman to hold that position at the company. The new president, who embraces the challenge of maintaining its commitment to sustainability, has pledged to conduct more "open, consistent, and meaningful" communication with shareholders, the market, and internal management. Glanzmann took the opportunity to bid farewell and also recalled the "baseless" attack by the hedge fund Gotham that took him to court.