Fresenius Medical Care, the world’s largest provider of dialysis products and services, today announced that Standard & Poor’s has upgraded Fresenius Medical Care’s corporate credit rating to BBB with a stable outlook from BBB- with a positive outlook. Fresenius Medical Care is rated investment grade by the three leading rating agencies Standard & Poor’s (BBB/stable), Moody's (Baa3/stable) and Fitch (BBB-/stable).

Standard & Poor’s has revised Fresenius’ corporate credit rating to BBB with a stable outlook from BBB- with a positive outlook. Fresenius is rated investment grade by the three leading rating agencies Standard & Poor’s (BBB/stable), Moody's (Baa3/stable) and Fitch (BBB-/stable).

Standard & Poor’s has revised Fresenius’ corporate credit rating to BBB with a stable outlook from BBB- with a positive outlook. Fresenius is rated investment grade by the three leading rating agencies Standard & Poor’s (BBB/stable), Moody's (Baa3/stable) and Fitch (BBB-/stable).

Fresenius Medical Care, the world’s largest provider of dialysis products and services, is investing in further growth. At the Annual General Meeting in Frankfurt today, CEO Rice Powell explained the company's growth strategy: “We will be investing to the benefit of our patients – in innovation, efficiency and areas of growth. We have already taken important steps in this direction: We want to continuously improve dialysis care in a number of ways. Because we are vertically integrated, we are ideally placed to develop innovations for a range of applications, from diagnosis to treatment.”

A large shareholder majority of 89.78 percent approved the company’s 22nd consecutive dividend increase. The dividend will be raised from €1.06 to €1.17, an increase of 10 percent. 

With large majorities, the Annual General Meeting elected two new members as shareholder representatives to the Supervisory Board: Dr. Dorothea Wenzel, Executive Vice President and Head of the Global Business Unit Surface Solutions at Merck KGaA, and Professor Dr. Gregor Zünd, Chief Executive Officer of the University Hospital of Zurich. The two by-elections were necessitated by the departures of Dr. Gerd Krick and Deborah Doyle McWhinney from the Supervisory Board last year.

Shareholder majorities of 56.81 and 52.32 percent, respectively, approved the actions of the General Partner and the Supervisory Board in 2018.

At the Annual General Meeting, 76.68 percent of the subscribed capital was represented.

The next Annual General Meeting is scheduled for May 19, 2020.

Fresenius remains on course for growth despite some recent challenges, Stephan Sturm, CEO of Fresenius, told the Annual General Meeting in Frankfurt today. “2018 was not an easy year, and yet it was a successful one,” he said in a speech to shareholders. “Fresenius is in very good shape. All indications point to continued, profitable growth.”

The basis for this will be increased investments in the current business year, Sturm said. He confirmed the global healthcare group’s ambitious targets¹ for 2020 to 2023 of organic sales growth averaging 4 to 7 percent annually and an average increase in net income² of 5 to 9 percent.

“What we do is more important than ever,” Sturm said. “The healthcare market is growing. People are living longer, and around the world the demand for high-quality medicine is rising. Needs and expectations are also changing: It is no longer about preserving lives, but about raising quality of life for people well into old age. It is also about keeping quality healthcare affordable. These are big challenges! But challenges that we are superbly positioned to meet.”

¹ Before special items
² Net income attributable to shareholders of Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA

Shareholders approved with a majority of 90.96 percent the proposal of the General Partner and the Supervisory Board to increase the dividend for the 26th consecutive time. It was raised by 7 percent, to €0.80 per share.

Shareholder majorities of 98.49 percent and 87.53 percent, respectively, approved the actions of the Management and Supervisory Boards in 2018.

At the Annual General Meeting, 72.46 percent of the subscribed capital was represented.