By Rafal Wojciech Nowak and Tristan Veyet
(Reuters) -German healthcare group Fresenius reported fourth-quarter earnings above market expectations on Wednesday, driven by a strong performance at its hospital drug unit Kabi.
Its shares jumped around 7% by 0910 GMT, among top performers on Europe’s benchmark STOXX 600 index.
Since 2022, Fresenius has been reorganizing its businesses to reduce costs and liabilities, including ceding control of its former dialysis unit, Fresenius Medical Care, and exiting some other non-core operations to focus on Kabi and hospital operator Helios.
Fresenius Kabi, a producer of generic hospital medications, posted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of 340 million euros ($356.8 million) for the quarter, up 21% year-on-year, largely due to positive revenue development and improved structural productivity.
Helios, which operates hospitals in Germany and Spain, reported a 5% EBIT drop to 339 million euros in the same period. That was mainly due to the end of governmental energy relief payments for German hospitals, which had been introduced to offset rising energy costs.
Overall, Fresenius’ EBIT before special items rose to 646 million euros in the final quarter of 2024, surpassing analysts’ average estimate of 634 million euros in a poll by Vara Research.
For 2025, it forecast organic revenue growth before special items of 4% to 6%, and EBIT growth of 3% to 7% in constant currency.
For Kabi, it sees organic growth in a mid to high single-digit percentage and an EBIT margin of between 16.0% and 16.5%. Helios should see mid-single-digit organic growth and a margin of around 10%.
“Overall, a good end to the year with Kabi providing encouraging upside for the future,” Warburg Research analyst Christian Ehmann said in a note.
“Helios appears to be more challenging than anticipated, but the guidance should only trigger minor estimate revisions,” Ehmann added.
The positive results echo those of Fresenius Medical Care, which topped market expectation on Tuesday aided by positive development across its businesses.
Fresenius said it would propose a dividend of 1 euro per share for the 2024 financial year.
($1 = 0.9528 euros)
(Additional Reporting by Patricia Weiss in Frankfurt; Editing by Varun H K and Milla Nissi)
