Fresenius Medical Care AG, the German dialysis provider, posted a second-quarter profit that beat expectations, with its dialysis services business providing the main lift. The preliminary report, issued Monday, put net income before special items at €303 million ($349 million), up 13% and above the €288 million consensus.
The company's dialysis service business was the main engine behind the profit increase. Favorable reimbursement also helped the unit cope with softer U.S. treatment activity.
Treatment volume at comparable U.S. clinics slipped 0.9% in the second quarter, a steeper drop than the previous quarter's. Investors pay close attention to this figure because faster treatment growth is one of the clearest levers for lifting profit. After the release, Fresenius Medical Care's American depositary receipts lost up to 3.9% by 1:55 p.m. in New York.
Helen Giza, who became CEO in late 2022, has sought to boost profitability through divestments and a cost-savings program. The program is intended to produce €1.2 billion in savings by next year's end, and in the second quarter it delivered €67 million in lasting savings.
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Fresenius has also been coping with unusually high death rates among its U.S. dialysis patients since Covid-19, which has dented earnings. Chief Executive Officer Helen Giza said the company has "wrapped up" its U.S. clinic consolidation, a process that involved closing roughly 100 clinics.
The stock had gained about 10% this year before Monday's close.
Fresenius has two main operating units. Care Enablement, which makes dialysis equipment and supplies technical services, saw income excluding special items fall 6% and remains under strain in China.
Fresenius Medical Care is one of the largest kidney-care providers globally, and its turnaround centers on making the U.S. clinic network leaner after the pandemic disrupted patient volumes. The U.S. business remains the key swing factor, with elevated patient deaths and lower treatment volumes weighing on results. Fresenius has closed about 100 clinics as part of that effort and is rolling out the 5008X, a machine already established in Europe, while relying on cost savings to protect profitability.
Fresenius reiterated its full-year guidance of roughly flat revenue growth and stable operating income. To improve U.S. treatment trends, the company is deploying the 5008X dialysis machine, a model that has gained broad acceptance across Europe. It is now in use at 227 U.S. clinics, according to Fresenius.
The results offer a mixed signal. Strong cost discipline and reimbursement helped profit beat expectations, but the continued drop in U.S. treatment volume is a reminder that the core growth challenge remains. The rollout of the 5008X and further savings will be key to showing investors that Fresenius can turn its strategy into lasting improvement.
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