Annual General Meeting 2024: Fresenius focuses on modern therapies

• Fresenius is simpler, stronger, and more innovative due to #FutureFresenius
• Following a strong first quarter and higher expectations for the year as a whole, outlook improved at the beginning of May 
• First in-person Annual General Meeting since 2019
• Fresenius’ new brand identity reflects its restructuring

After an excellent start to the 2024 fiscal year, DAX 40 company Fresenius is looking to the future with confidence. “Our aim for the coming years is to now establish Fresenius as an economically successful, innovative healthcare company focused on modern therapies,” said CEO Michael Sen at this year’s Annual General Meeting on Friday in Frankfurt am Main. 

“2023 was a year of change and new beginnings here at Fresenius. We introduced our #FutureFresenius program to restructure our company, sharpen our focus, and continue successfully developing our company. We now want to tap into this positive momentum,” Sen stressed. The structural simplification, including the deconsolidation of Fresenius Medical Care and the exit from Vamed, as well as the focus on Fresenius Kabi and Fresenius Helios, is increasingly paying off. Both core businesses are growing profitably in highly attractive markets and were able to further increase their momentum in the first quarter of 2024. 

With the presentation of the financial figures for the first quarter, Fresenius raised the Group’s outlook¹ for the current fiscal year last week and now expects organic revenue growth of 4–7% and currency-adjusted EBIT growth of 6–10%.

¹ The adjustment of the Group outlook reflects the fact that the forecast now excludes Fresenius Vamed, i.e. it is exclusively for the operating companies Fresenius Kabi and Fresenius Helios.

“We have regained our strength at just the right time. The healthcare industry is currently growing robustly and reliably. Indeed, it is one of the most attractive sectors,” Sen said. To this end, Fresenius is focusing its business on three platforms, which together create a market potential of up to €1 trillion: (Bio)Pharma, which includes chemical and biological drugs and clinical nutrition, MedTech, i.e. medical technology, which increasingly involves a combination of hardware and software, and Care Provision, i.e. medical care, whether in-patient or outpatient, or at home. Sen emphasized: “We are close to the patients. And this is exactly what sets us apart from purely pharma and medtech companies. And also from tech companies based in Silicon Valley.”

This proximity to the patients is also demonstrated by innovative products that enhance the medical quality and efficiency of care. Fresenius Kabi recently achieved two major milestones with the market launch of the biosimilar Tyenne for the treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases in the EU and the USA. In Fresenius Helios hospitals, highly precise and tissue-friendly surgical robots assist in minimally invasive procedures. These robots are operated by a doctor by hand control and pedal. A total of 20 Da Vinci surgical robots are currently used at Helios hospitals in Germany.

Fresenius introduced a fresh and modernized brand identity at the Annual General Meeting. With its new slogan “Committed to Life”, Fresenius aims to be recognized as a leading healthcare company offering world-class therapies and improving people’s lives.

This year’s Annual General Meeting is the first in-person Fresenius shareholder meeting since 2019. Several hundred shareholders were expected to attend the Annual General Meeting at Messe Frankfurt.