Feb 24 (Reuters) – Fresenius Medical Care gave a cautious outlook for 2026 on Tuesday, sending its shares around 10% lower at market open, even as the dialysis provider reported a sharp rise in fourth-quarter operating income.
Helped by accelerating cost savings and favourable reimbursement effects, the German group’s operating income excluding special items jumped 44% to 705 million euros ($830 million) in the final quarter of 2025, beating analysts’ expectations for 633 million euros.
But despite the strong profit performance, FMC expects 2026 sales to remain level with last year’s, while the adjusted operating income development is seen between a mid‑single‑digit percent drop and a mid‑single‑digit percent rise.
The muted outlook reflects continued cost pressure from inflation, regulatory effects and strategic investment costs, including the rollout of a new dialysis machine in the United States. The company also warned that positive contributions from the U.S. reimbursement scheme were likely to be lower than in 2025.
These burdens are likely to largely offset the positive effects of continued business growth and another 250 million euros in incremental savings, the company said.
FMC, which makes the majority of its revenue in the U.S., is undergoing a major overhaul under CEO Helen Giza, focused on margin recovery, cost discipline and portfolio simplification after its deconsolidation from former parent Fresenius in 2023.
“We remain steadfast in our commitment to further improve profitability, while investing in our future and overcoming regulatory headwinds,” Giza said in a statement, adding the company was entering the next phase of its “FME Reignite” strategy.
($1 = 0.8497 euros)
(Reporting by Maria Rugamer in Gdansk and Patricia Weiss in Frankfurt, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)
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