By Neetha Mahadevan
FRANKFURT--German health-care products and services company
Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA on Wednesday reported a decline in
fourth-quarter net profit but raised its dividend for the year by
6% after strong full-year results driven by growth in its
hospital-operator division Helios.
In the fourth quarter, net profit fell 9.5% to EUR257 million
from EUR284 million, while sales jumped 20% to EUR6.5 billion. The
net profit figure includes special items such as integrations costs
and disposal gains.
Net profit for the year rose 6% to EUR1.07 billion. Sales surged
14% from a year earlier to EUR23.23 billion from EUR20.33 billion,
driven by acquisitions, while adjusted earnings before interest and
taxes increased 4% to EUR3.16 billion.
Among its divisions, Fresenius Helios grew the most, mainly due
to the first-time consolidation of the acquired hospitals from
Rhoen-Klinikum AG.
Fresenius Medical Care, a separately listed dialysis provider
that is 30%-owned by Fresenius SE, said net profit in the fourth
quarter declined 4% to $335 million compared with $349 million a
year earlier, while revenue rose 12% on the year to $4.32 billion,
aided by a number of recent acquisitions.
Write to Neetha Mahadevan at neetha.mahadevan@wsj.com
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