By Isabel Demetz and Patricia Weiss
(Reuters) -Dialysis specialist Fresenius Medical Care missed analysts’ earnings forecasts on Tuesday, after a severe flu season in the U.S. led to higher mortality among patients and a greater number of missed treatments in the first months of 2025.
FMC, which makes the bulk of its sales in the U.S., however was “encouraged by the strong and accelerating momentum in patient referrals” that had continued in the second quarter, CEO Helen Giza said in a statement.
But this positive development was offset by a higher than expected patient outflow due to elevated mortality rates in the U.S. following the severe flu season, she added.
That impacted treatment numbers for the second quarter and the remainder of the year, FMC said, leading to U.S. same market treatment growth being flat compared to last year in the April-June period.
Based on the development in the first half of the year, FMC lowered its guidance on same market treatment growth in the U.S. for 2025, now expecting it to be flat or slightly positive, Giza said during a press conference.
The world’s largest dialysis provider had previously guided for same market treatment growth of more than 0.5% in the United States.
FMC’s adjusted operating income grew 9% to 476 million euros ($550.2 million) in the second quarter, but missed analysts’ average estimate of 492 million in a company-provided consensus.
Its shares were down 4% as of 0949 GMT, at the bottom of Germany’s blue-chip index, after falling up to 7% earlier in the session.
Quarterly revenue grew 5% in constant currency terms to 4.79 billion euros, slightly above market expectations, helped by savings of 58 million euros attributable to the group’s FME25 transformation program.
The German company confirmed its full-year guidance, and Giza said it expected “to realize further significant operational and financial improvements” in the second half.
FMC also said it would initiate the first tranche of its 1 billion euro share buyback programme in August.
($1 = 0.8651 euros)
(Reporting by Isabel Demetz and Patricia Weiss; editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)
