Australia's CSL faces shareholder class action over forecast disclosures (updated)
UPDATE 2-Australia's CSL faces shareholder class action over forecast disclosures Updates with share moves, details and background
Oct 22 (Reuters) - Australian biotech firm CSL CSL.AX said on Thursday it is facing a shareholder class action in Victoria's Supreme Court over claims it breached continuous disclosure rules tied to its financial forecasts, sending its shares lower.
The legal action marks the latest challenge for CSL after a string of profit warnings, a delayed Seqirus demerger and a $5 billion impairment charge rattled investors and wiped billions from its market value over 2025 and 2026.
The class action was filed by law firm Echo Law on behalf of investors who acquired certain CSL securities between February 11, 2025, and May 11, 2026.
"The allegations relate to the company's medium-term and FY26 guidance, both of which were retracted or downgraded during the claim period, and the reasonableness of the guidance in the context of changes to market conditions for immunoglobulin and albumin products in 2024 and 2025," Echo Law said in a statement on its website.
Denying any liability, CSL said it had been in compliance with its disclosure obligations at all times, adding that it would defend the proceeding.
Shares of CSL fell as much as 1.1% to A$193.89 by 0022 GMT, cutting its year-to-date gains to around 13%.
CSL cut its forecast for fiscal 2026 revenue and net profit after tax before amortisation at its annual general meeting in late October 2025.
It also delayed plans to spin off its Seqirus vaccine unit, blaming an unprecedented fall in US flu immunisation rates.
At the 2025 annual meeting, about 42% of proxy votes were cast against CSL's remuneration report, according to a tally shown that day, underscoring investor frustration after a steep share-price fall.
In May this year, CSL warned of a $5 billion impairment and cut its 2026 revenue forecast to $15.2 billion on a constant-currency basis, reigniting doubts about the merits of its Vifor acquisition and the pace of its turnaround.
On Wednesday, CSL named GSK GSK.L executive Deborah Waterhouse as its next CEO and managing director, effective February.
(Reporting by Shivangi Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas and Subhranshu Sahu)