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FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - A bitter disappointment over the business outlook: The share price of biotech company Evotec slumped by almost a third on Wednesday. The shares fell to their lowest level since 2017, with a recent drop of almost 30 percent at a price of 10 euros.

The drug discovery company's reported profit for 2023 was disappointing and the outlook for 2024 was disillusioning. In the recent past, Evotec has had to contend with high costs due to the expansion of its production, among other things. In spring 2023, a hacker attack then caused further damage.

The outlook for the pharmaceutical drug researcher has become much more cautious, commented expert Charles Weston from the Canadian bank RBC. Turnover and operating profit are likely to fall well short of market expectations. There is also a question mark over the medium-term outlook.

The new CEO Christian Wojczewski is a positive aspect, but the uncertainty with regard to earnings development in 2024 and 2025 overshadows this, analyst Benjamin Jackson from investment house Jefferies also expressed caution. The market estimates have been far too optimistic so far.

The long-standing CEO Werner Lanthaler surprisingly stepped down at the beginning of 2024. This dealt a further blow to the share price, which had recovered somewhat in 2023 following a slump in 2022. Including the losses on Wednesday, the drop in 2024 alone amounted to more than 50 percent.

Christian Wojczewski is to lead the Group back into calmer waters. The appointment of the manager, who was most recently head of Mediq and Linde Healthcare, as Evotec CEO was only announced by the company on Tuesday evening. The chemist will take up the position on July 1./mis/ajx/jha/