The Supervisory Board of Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA has decided to propose PricewaterhouseCoopers GmbH Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft as the auditor for the financial year 2020. The shareholders will decide on the appointment at the Annual General Meeting in 2020. New regulations provide for a regular rotation of the auditor, so Fresenius was not able to extend the existing mandate of KPMG AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft.

The Supervisory Board of Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA has decided to propose PricewaterhouseCoopers GmbH Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft as the auditor for the financial year 2020. The shareholders will decide on the appointment at the Annual General Meeting in 2020. New regulations provide for a regular rotation of the auditor, so Fresenius was not able to extend the existing mandate of KPMG AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft.

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In the lawsuit by Akorn, Inc. against Fresenius for the consummation of the April 2017 merger agreement the Supreme Court in the U.S. state of Delaware today ruled in favor of Fresenius. As this is the highest Court in Delaware, no further appeal is possible.

Fresenius terminated the merger agreement due to Akorn’s failure to fulfill several closing conditions. An independent investigation initiated by Fresenius had revealed, among other things, material breaches of FDA data integrity requirements relating to Akorn's operations. Akorn responded by suing in the Court of Chancery in Delaware for the consummation of the agreement but Akorn’s lawsuit had been dismissed by the Court of Chancery of Delaware in the first instance as well as now in the second and last instance before the Delaware Supreme Court.

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Head of Corporate Communications
T +49 (0) 6172 608-96008
pr-fre@fresenius.com

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Current Group expectations for FY 2019
Based on the current status of the Group’s budget process and its FY 2018 guidance, Fresenius expects mid-single digit organic sales growth for FY 2019. Group net income^1,2, however, is expected to be broadly stable over FY 2018. Fresenius continues to seek both sales growth and efficiency improvement initiatives in order to enhance these expectations.

Current business segment expectations for FY 2019³
For FY 2019, Fresenius Medical Care currently broadly assumes solid comparable⁴ sales growth and the comparable⁴ net income to be around the level of FY 2018.

Given its outstanding financial performance in FY 2018, Fresenius Kabi will enter 2019 from a tough comparison basis. In general anticipation of easing drug shortage benefits and meaningful expenses for the further development of its biosimilars portfolio Fresenius Kabi expects mid-single digit organic sales growth and low- to mid-single digit EBIT⁵ growth in constant currency.

Within Fresenius Helios’ expectation of low- to mid-single digit organic sales growth, Helios Spain continues to grow faster than Helios Germany. Helios Spain’s expected mid-single-digit EBIT growth will not fully offset the headwinds at Helios Germany resulting from regulatory changes and already started countermeasures. Thus, in aggregate, Fresenius Helios currently expects EBIT contraction at a low- to mid-single digit rate.

Fresenius Vamed expects underlying⁶ growth rates similar to previous years.

Current Group medium-term expectations
Given its current expectations for FY 2018 and FY 2019, Fresenius now believes its ambitious Group targets for 2020 will not be met.

From 2020 onwards, Fresenius now expects sustainable organic Group sales growth in the mid-single digits. Group net income⁷ is expected to grow organically slightly faster than sales. Upon Fresenius Kabi’s biosimilars business breaking even, Fresenius expects an acceleration of Group earnings growth. Unlike previous mid-term targets, these expectations exclude the effect of small- to medium-sized acquisitions.

In addition to the significant R&D and business development investments in FY 2017 and
FY 2018, Fresenius expects record investments in 2019 in both, capex and opex. These investments will further strengthen the basis for sustainable mid-term growth and are testament to Fresenius’ confidence in the dynamic growth opportunities in all of its business segments and end-markets.

Stephan Sturm, CEO of Fresenius, said: “We remain highly confident that Fresenius is on track to continue growing healthily over the medium and long term. Our updated expectations reflect the significant changes made to our portfolio over the last two years. They do not reflect acquisitions, which, however, will remain an important source of growth going forward. Further strengthened by the investments we will make in our businesses next year, Fresenius will be even better positioned for the coming decade.”

Acquisitions
Current expectations include the NxStage acquisition by Fresenius Medical Care and exclude any effects related to Akorn, Inc. While mid-term expectations exclude the effects of small- to medium-sized acquisitions, Fresenius will continue to pursue its strategy of selective acquisitions in order to complement organic growth.

Growing dividend
For FY 2018, Fresenius expects to propose a dividend increase in line with earnings growth⁸, consistent with its stated dividend policy. The Company intends to further increase its dividend for FY 2019.

Next steps
Fresenius will announce detailed FY 2019 financial guidance and mid-term targets with the release of its FY 2018 results on February 20, 2019.

Conference Call
A conference call will be held on December 7, 2018 at 8 a.m. CET (2 a.m. EDT). All investors are cordially invited to follow the conference call in a live broadcast over the Internet at www.fresenius.com/investors. Following the call, a replay will be available shortly on our website.

¹In constant currency, before special items and effects of IFRS 16, incl. expenses for the further development of the biosimilars business, H1/18 adjusted for divestitures of Care Coordination activities. 2019 including NxStage operating results.
²Net income attributable to shareholders of Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA
³Business segment expectations before effects of IFRS 16
⁴“comparable” is on a constant currency basis and reflects an adjustment for those effects that are as per FMC’s view not related to FMC’s operating business performance such as, for example, the effects of IFRS 16, sizeable portfolio changes like the divestiture of Sound Inpatient Physicians Holdings or the pending acquisition of NxStage Medical Inc. or other effects of one-time nature like FCPA-related charges or the cost of the 2018 U.S. ballot initiatives. For the preliminary indicative 2019 guidance the “comparable” 2018 basis translates roughly at current currencies for sales in a range of €15,850 – 16,050 million and for net income in a range of €1,350 – 1,365 million. This is subject to fluctuations in the currency rates in the fourth quarter of 2018.
⁵Before special items, including expenses for the further development of the biosimilars business
⁶Before transfer of German post-acute care business from Fresenius Helios
⁷Net income attributable to shareholders of Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA; before special items
⁸Net income attributable to shareholders of Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA; in constant currency, before special items, incl. expenses for the further development of the biosimilars business, H2/17 adjusted for divestitures of Care Coordination activities

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T +49 (0) 6172 608-96008
pr-fre@fresenius.com

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• For 2019, an indicative and preliminary assumption of
  • solid revenue growth on a comparable basis¹
  • net income² at around the FY 2018 level on a comparable basis¹
• Use of cash currently under evaluation

Fresenius Medical Care, the world’s largest provider of dialysis products and services, has decided to update the market early by providing its indicative preliminary assumptions for the business development in 2019.

“With the pending acquisition of NxStage Medical Inc., the corresponding build out of our home dialysis services infrastructure in the United States as well as investments in future growth markets in the Products as well as the Services business such as China, we have an investment year ahead of us,” said Rice Powell, Chief Executive Officer of Fresenius Medical Care. ”We would like to share as an early indication that 2019 will have a clear focus on preparing the company for future sustainable, profitable growth. For 2019, we currently broadly assume solid comparable¹ revenue growth and the comparable¹ net income to be around the level of FY 2018.”

Fresenius Medical Care remains committed to a continuous optimization of its business, weighing future sustainable, profitable growth opportunities of potential investments and implied risks. From a global perspective, Fresenius Medical Care invests in new products as well as growth markets such as China. From an operational perspective, the company invests to increase the global home dialysis penetration and from an innovation perspective, the company makes investments such as in Humacyte Inc. to meet unmet medical needs.

Fresenius Medical Care is reviewing all factors as part of its budgeting process and plans to publish the guidance for 2019, at the usual level of detail, along with the company’s fiscal year 2018 results, which are planned to be released on February 20, 2019.

Targets 2020
Fresenius Medical Care intends to reset its 2020 constant currency targets to also reflect the IFRS accounting changes, the divestiture of Sound Inpatient Physicians Holdings and the pending acquisition of NxStage Medical Inc., all as highlighted in the previous quarter. The reset targets are scheduled to be published along with the company’s fiscal year 2018 results, which are planned to be released on February 20, 2019.

Conference call
Fresenius Medical Care will host a conference call on December 7, 2018, at 9:00 a.m. CET / 3:00 a.m. EST. Details will be available on the company’s website www.freseniusmedicalcare.com in the “Investors/Events” section. A replay will be available on the same day of the call.

¹“comparable” is on a constant currency basis and reflects an adjustment for those effects that are as per the company´s view not related to the company´s operating business performance such as, for example, the effects of IFRS 16, sizeable portfolio changes like the divestiture of Sound Inpatient Physicians Holdings or the pending acquisition of NxStage Medical Inc. or other effects of one-time nature like FCPA-related charges or the cost of the 2018 U.S. ballot initiatives. For the preliminary indicative 2019 guidance the “comparable” 2018 basis translates roughly at current currencies for revenue in a range of 15,850 – 16,050 EUR million and for net income in a range of 1,350 – 1,365 EUR million. This is subject to fluctuations in the currency rates in the fourth quarter of 2018.
²Net income attributable to shareholders of FMC AG & Co. KGaA

Current Group expectations for FY 2019
Based on the current status of the Group’s budget process and its FY 2018 guidance, Fresenius expects mid-single digit organic sales growth for FY 2019. Group net income^1,2, however, is expected to be broadly stable over FY 2018. Fresenius continues to seek both sales growth and efficiency improvement initiatives in order to enhance these expectations.

Current business segment expectations for FY 2019³
For FY 2019, Fresenius Medical Care currently broadly assumes solid comparable⁴ sales growth and the comparable⁴ net income to be around the level of FY 2018.

Given its outstanding financial performance in FY 2018, Fresenius Kabi will enter 2019 from a tough comparison basis. In general anticipation of easing drug shortage benefits and meaningful expenses for the further development of its biosimilars portfolio Fresenius Kabi expects mid-single digit organic sales growth and low- to mid-single digit EBIT⁵ growth in constant currency.

Within Fresenius Helios’ expectation of low- to mid-single digit organic sales growth, Helios Spain continues to grow faster than Helios Germany. Helios Spain’s expected mid-single-digit EBIT growth will not fully offset the headwinds at Helios Germany resulting from regulatory changes and already started countermeasures. Thus, in aggregate, Fresenius Helios currently expects EBIT contraction at a low- to mid-single digit rate.

Fresenius Vamed expects underlying⁶ growth rates similar to previous years.

Current Group medium-term expectations
Given its current expectations for FY 2018 and FY 2019, Fresenius now believes its ambitious Group targets for 2020 will not be met.

From 2020 onwards, Fresenius now expects sustainable organic Group sales growth in the mid-single digits. Group net income⁷ is expected to grow organically slightly faster than sales. Upon Fresenius Kabi’s biosimilars business breaking even, Fresenius expects an acceleration of Group earnings growth. Unlike previous mid-term targets, these expectations exclude the effect of small- to medium-sized acquisitions.

In addition to the significant R&D and business development investments in FY 2017 and FY 2018, Fresenius expects record investments in 2019 in both, capex and opex. These investments will further strengthen the basis for sustainable mid-term growth and are testament to Fresenius’ confidence in the dynamic growth opportunities in all of its business segments and end-markets.

Stephan Sturm, CEO of Fresenius, said: “We remain highly confident that Fresenius is on track to continue growing healthily over the medium and long term. Our updated expectations reflect the significant changes made to our portfolio over the last two years. They do not reflect acquisitions, which, however, will remain an important source of growth going forward. Further strengthened by the investments we will make in our businesses next year, Fresenius will be even better positioned for the coming decade.”

Acquisitions
Current expectations include the NxStage acquisition by Fresenius Medical Care and exclude any effects related to Akorn, Inc. While mid-term expectations exclude the effects of small- to medium-sized acquisitions, Fresenius will continue to pursue its strategy of selective acquisitions in order to complement organic growth.

Growing dividend
For FY 2018, Fresenius expects to propose a dividend increase in line with earnings growth⁸, consistent with its stated dividend policy. The Company intends to further increase its dividend for FY 2019.

Next steps
Fresenius will announce detailed FY 2019 financial guidance and mid-term targets with the release of its FY 2018 results on February 20, 2019.

Conference Call
A conference call will be held on December 7, 2018 at 8 a.m. CET (2 a.m. EDT). All investors are cordially invited to follow the conference call in a live broadcast over the Internet at www.fresenius.com/investors. Following the call, a replay will be available shortly on our website.

# # #

For additional information on the performance indicators used please refer to our website at https://www.fresenius.com/alternative-performance-measures.

# # #

¹In constant currency, before special items and effects of IFRS 16, incl. expenses for the further development of the biosimilars business, H1/18 adjusted for divestitures of Care Coordination activities. 2019 including NxStage operating results.
²Net income attributable to shareholders of Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA
³Business segment expectations before effects of IFRS 16
⁴“comparable” is on a constant currency basis and reflects an adjustment for those effects that are as per FMC’s view not related to FMC’s operating business performance such as, for example, the effects of IFRS 16, sizeable portfolio changes like the divestiture of Sound Inpatient Physicians Holdings or the pending acquisition of NxStage Medical Inc. or other effects of one-time nature like FCPA-related charges or the cost of the 2018 U.S. ballot initiatives. For the preliminary indicative 2019 guidance the “comparable” 2018 basis translates roughly at current currencies for sales in a range of €15,850 – 16,050 million and for net income in a range of €1,350 – 1,365 million. This is subject to fluctuations in the currency rates in the fourth quarter of 2018.
⁵Before special items, including expenses for the further development of the biosimilars business
⁶Before transfer of German post-acute care business from Fresenius Helios
⁷Net income attributable to shareholders of Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA; before special items
⁸Net income attributable to shareholders of Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA; in constant currency, before special items, incl. expenses for the further development of the biosimilars business, H2/17 adjusted for divestitures of Care Coordination activities

Fresenius Medical Care, the world’s largest provider of dialysis products and services, continues to expand its dialysis care network through the acquisition of further dialysis centers and renal hospitals in China. The company acquired a 70% share of Guangzhou KangNiDaiSi Medical Investment Co., Ltd, which focuses on dialysis and related chronic disease services. KangNiDaiSi has three independent hemodialysis centers under construction in the cities of Guangzhou and Zhaoqing in Guangdong province, which borders Hong Kong in southeast China. A proposed fourth center in Guangzhou awaits government approval.

Fresenius Medical Care also acquired 55% stakes in Henan Aishen Hospital Management Co. Ltd (Henan Aishen) and Aishen Beijing Hospital Management Co., Ltd (Aishen Beijing). Henan Aishen and Aishen Beijing are building 13 dialysis centers and a grade I renal hospital to complement the dialysis care network that will cover Henan, Shandong, Guangdong and Hainan provinces. There are further plans to expand into new locations in the future. In addition, the company has taken a 60% share of Daqing Kangda Dialysis Center Co., Ltd in Heilongjiang province.

The acquisitions follow the purchase of Yunnan Kunming Wuhua Healthcare Hospital in April 2017, and the acquisition of a 70% share of Sichuan Hejiang Kangcheng Renal Hospital in June 2018 as well as the acquisition of a 70% share of Sichuan Ziyang Zhongxin Hospital, both located in the Sichuan province.

Rice Powell, CEO of Fresenius Medical Care, said: “Fresenius Medical Care is committed to improving access to world-leading dialysis technology and chronic disease management services for the more than 120 million people in China who are living with chronic kidney disease. These acquisitions mark an important strategic step in our business development in China. As the second largest product market, China is already today an important business growth driver for Fresenius Medical Care. We have been continuously investing in enhancing our product range within the local market. We have also started to enter the provider business to introduce advanced dialysis services and operations management in China.”

“As a leading provider of dialysis products and services in China, we are eager to work with other companies that are dedicated to elevating the treatment of kidney disease in this huge country. In particular, we focus on increasing access to treatment in rural areas, where there have traditionally been fewer options for patients,” said Harry de Wit, CEO of Fresenius Medical Care Asia-Pacific. “We strive to introduce our world-leading chronic disease management system and high-quality dialysis treatment services throughout the country. And we will continue to search for opportunities to partner with institutions from the public and private sectors and invest in new dialysis centers and renal hospitals.” 

The prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in China is 10.8% of the adult population, which equates to more than 120 million people. According to research conducted by the Chinese Society of Nephrology, there currently are one million ESRD patients registered in China, but only around 500,000 receive dialysis treatment. 

Fresenius Kabi has received a Drug Shortage Assistance Award from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA recognized the role Fresenius Kabi played in helping mitigate a shortage of IV saline, specifically Sodium Chloride Injection USP, 0.9% in bags. The shortage was caused last year by supply disruptions at manufacturers affected by Hurricane Maria.  The hurricane devastated Puerto Rico, where many companies produce medicines for U.S. hospitals.

Fresenius Kabi has received a Drug Shortage Assistance Award from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA recognized the role Fresenius Kabi played in helping mitigate a shortage of IV saline, specifically Sodium Chloride Injection USP, 0.9% in bags. The shortage was caused last year by supply disruptions at manufacturers affected by Hurricane Maria.  The hurricane devastated Puerto Rico, where many companies produce medicines for U.S. hospitals.