Australia's CSL hit with shareholder class action suit over earnings guidance (updated)

CSL

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By Shivangi  Lahiri and Roshan Thomas
Oct 22 (Reuters) - Australia's CSL CSL.AX was hit with a shareholder class action suit on Thursday that accuses the vaccine and blood products maker of breaching disclosure rules when retracting and cutting earnings guidance.
The lawsuit, brought by Echo Law, relates to "the reasonableness of the guidance" given the market conditions at the time and was filed in the Supreme Court of Victoria on behalf of investors who acquired certain CSL securities between February 11, 2025 and May 11, 2026.
The company cut its fiscal 2026 revenue and profit forecasts in October 2025 and lowered its outlook again in May this year, warning of a $5 billion impairment charge related to Vifor Pharma, a Swiss drugmaker it bought in 2022 for $12 billion.
CSL, which this week appointed GSK GSK.L executive Deborah Waterhouse as CEO to help the company find its footing, denied liability, saying it had complied with its disclosure obligations at all times and would vigorously defend itself.
Waterhouse, who currently leads GSK-backed HIV drugmaker ViiV Healthcare, will take over on February 1, succeeding interim chief Gordon Naylor.
CSL has spent much of the past two years grappling with weakness in its Behring plasma business, and a delayed demerger of its Seqirus vaccines business.
"Waterhouse still has a mammoth task on her hands ... she's  walking into a business guiding to flat revenue this year, so investors shouldn’t expect a quick fix," said Josh Gilbert, lead analyst at eToro. 

        Shares in the company ended flat on Wednesday. Investor sentiment improved in August after CSL topped earnings expectations and the stock is up 14% for the year to date.

 (Reporting by Shivangi Lahiri and Roshan Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Edwina Gibbs)
 ((Shivangi.Lahiri@thomsonreuters.com;))