June 6, 2007
Fresenius streamlines hospital business structure and announces changes to the Management Board
Fresenius AG today announced that it will reorganize its hospital business effective January 1, 2008. The current business segment Fresenius ProServe will be replaced by the two new business segments Fresenius HELIOS and Fresenius VAMED which so far have formed Fresenius ProServe. Following the reorganization, the Fresenius Group will have four business segments – Fresenius Medical Care, Fresenius Kabi, Fresenius HELIOS and Fresenius VAMED.
This step underlines the growing importance of the hospital operations business (HELIOS) and the engineering and services business for hospitals (VAMED). In future, these business segments will be run independently and be directly represented in Fresenius AG's Management Board.
In 2006, HELIOS Kliniken achieved revenues of € 1.67 billion. Operating income was € 133 million. HELIOS owns 58 clinics with 15,800 beds. The company will continue to operate under its original name HELIOS Kliniken GmbH. VAMED had revenues of € 392 million in 2006. Operating income was € 24 million. In addition, VAMED handled approximately € 350 million in third-party revenues through management contracts. VAMED has a strong international presence and managed healthcare projects in approximately 80 countries. The company will also continue to operate under its original name VAMED AG.
The following shows the new group structure:
As part of the new organizational structure, Dr. Francesco De Meo (43) and Dr. Ernst Wastler (48) will join the Management Board of Fresenius AG effective January 1, 2008. Francesco De Meo will be responsible for the business segment Fresenius HELIOS. Ernst Wastler will be in charge of the business segment Fresenius VAMED.
Since July 1, 2000, Dr. Francesco De Meo has served as a managing director of HELIOS Kliniken GmbH with responsibility for personnel and legal affairs. He will succeed Ralf Michels as CEO of HELIOS Kliniken GmbH effective January 1, 2008. Ralf Michels will then become a member of the Supervisory Board of HELIOS Kliniken GmbH.
Ernst Wastler has served as CEO of VAMED AG since July 1, 2001. He joined the company in 1984 and has contributed significantly to the international expansion of VAMED.
As a result of the reorganization, Andreas Gaddum, member of the Management Board of Fresenius AG and responsible for the business segment Fresenius ProServe, will leave the company by mutal agreement effective December 31, 2007. Andreas Gaddum has played a key role in focussing Fresenius ProServe on the hospital business.
In addition, Fresenius announced the appointment of Dr. Jürgen Götz (43) as member of the Management Board of Fresenius AG effective July 1, 2007. Jürgen Götz will be responsible for legal, compliance and personnel affairs. He also will assume the position as Labor Relations Director from Stephan Sturm who will continue to serve as CFO of Fresenius AG.
"The new organizational structure sets the stage for the focused expansion of Fresenius HELIOS and Fresenius VAMED within our group. In addition, we reduce the number of management layers and increase the transparency of the hospital business for our investors. I would like to thank Andreas Gaddum for his significant contributions and his achievements in Fresenius ProServe's strategic realignment. At the same time, I am looking forward to working with Jürgen Götz, Francesco De Meo and Ernst Wastler in the Fresenius Management Board. They have done an outstanding job in their current assignments and are superbly qualified to be part of our senior leadership team as we take the company to the next level", commented Dr. Ulf M. Schneider, Chairman of the Management Board of Fresenius AG.
The Company expects no restructuring costs to result from these organizational changes. Fresenius Group will adjust its financial reporting to the new structure in the first quarter of 2008.
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Fresenius is a health care group with international operations, providing products and services for dialysis, hospital and outpatient medical care. In 2006 group sales were about € 10.8 billion. On March 31, 2007 the Fresenius Group had 107,348 employees worldwide.