By Adria Calatayud
Fresenius Medical Care shares fell after the German dialysis specialist said U.S. treatment volumes declined in the first quarter and reported a lower net profit due to restructuring costs.
Shares in Fresenius Medical Care fell as much as 9.4% before paring back the losses in European morning trade Tuesday. The stock has shed nearly a fifth of its value over the past year.
The company said treatment volumes in its dialysis care-delivery segment, the group's largest and its most profitable, dropped in the key U.S. market last quarter. Same market treatment volumes were 0.4% lower in the first quarter compared with a year before after being broadly flat the prior quarter.
Fresenius Medical Care had signaled that heavier weather events in the U.S. in January and February than last year resulted in missed treatments.
Analysts at Jefferies said in a research note the 0.4% decline in U.S. same market treatment volumes would draw attention.
The company said U.S. revenue at its dialysis-care operations grew 7% organically, and the segment's international business delivered solid organic growth.
Fresenius Medical Care said it started a restructuring of its U.S. network by exiting 64 of up to 100 dialysis clinics. One-time costs related to its transformation program were the main driver behind a profit decline in the first quarter, it said.
The company said it made a first-quarter net profit of 118 million euros ($138 million) compared with 151 million euros for the year-earlier period. Analysts had forecast net profit at 109 million euros, according to consensus estimates compiled by Vara Research.
Revenue declined to 4.61 billion euros from 4.88 billion euros, but rose 3% when excluding the effect of currency changes. Analysts had expected revenue of 4.59 billion euros, according to the same consensus.
Operating profit excluding special items was up 2% at 467 million euros, and up 10% when adjusted for currency movements, roughly in line with consensus expectations.
The company confirmed its full-year guidance.
Write to Adria Calatayud at adria.calatayud@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 05, 2026 04:46 ET (08:46 GMT)
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