Fresenius headquarters in Bad Homburg near Frankfurt, Germany, February 27, 2018. REUTERS
Feb 25 (Reuters) – German healthcare group Fresenius narrowly beat analysts’ expectations for fourth-quarter adjusted revenue on Wednesday, helped by a better performance at its hospital operator unit Helios.
The Hessian-based company reported quarterly revenue before special effects of 5.88 billion euros ($6.94 billion), above analysts’ average estimate of 5.8 billion euros in a Vara consensus poll.
In a separate statement, Fresenius said its supervisory board had extended the contract of chief executive officer Michael Sen ahead of schedule by a further five years, until 2031.
Since taking the helm in October 2022, Sen has been revamping Fresenius’ organization to reduce costs and liabilities, which included ceding control of dialysis unit Fresenius Medical Care in 2023.
The restructuring initiative prioritised Fresenius Kabi, a producer of generic hospital medications, and Helios, which operates a network of hospitals across Germany and Spain.
Fresenius said it was to propose a dividend of 1.05 euros per share, above last year’s payout of 1 euro per share.
($1 = 0.8477 euros)
Reporting by Tristan Veyet in Gdansk, Patricia Weiss in Frankfurt, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak
