Goals and Strategy

All business segments make an overall contribution to increasing the quality and efficiency of healthcare.

Fresenius Medical Care ensures patient health and product safety by providing a safe environment in its clinics. Fresenius Medical Care considers the quality and safety of its products and services to be the foundation of its success.

Fresenius Kabi’s corporate philosophy “caring for life” expresses the company’s commitment to improving the quality of life of its patients. The quality and safety of its products and services is thus of paramount importance to Fresenius Kabi.

Fresenius Helios hospitals are characterized by high standards of treatment quality, hygiene standards, patient safety, and quality of care.

Fresenius Vamed bases its quality processes on clearly defined and generally established standards.

Fresenius’ goal is to continue building on its strength in technology, its competence and quality in patient care, and its ability to manufacture cost-effectively. Developing products and systems that provide a high level of safety and user-friendliness and enable tailoring to individual patient needs is an inherent part of our strategy of sustainable and profitable growth. We will continue to develop ever more effective products and treatment methods for critically and chronically ill patients in order to offer best-in-class medical standards. Digitalization is playing an increasingly important role - whether it is in healthcare facilities or in production. It drives innovative technologies and treatment concepts and can contribute to solving numerous challenges in the healthcare system.

Fresenius Medical Care will focus on creating the future of health care for chronically and critically ill patients across the renal care continuum and critical care solutions. Fresenius Medical Care also strives to identify new opportunities in value-added technologies and approaches on an ongoing basis, for example through the Fresenius Medical Care Ventures fund, which invests in start-ups and earlystage companies in the healthcare industry.

Fresenius Kabi focuses its research and development activities on products for the therapy and care of critically and chronically ill patients. With our products we want to support medical advancements in acute and post-acute care and improve patients’ quality of life. We are also committed to providing access to high-quality, state-of-the-art therapies for an increasing number of people worldwide. Our development expertise covers all relevant components such as drug raw materials, pharmaceutical formulations, primary packaging, medical technologies for the application of drugs and infusions, as well as production technology. In the area of biosimilars, we have specialized in the development of products for the treatment of oncological and autoimmune diseases, making affordable treatments accessible for even more patients. 

Fresenius Helios’ goal is to foster knowledge sharing across its international hospital network and use innovation to develop ever better health care services and therapies for its patients. In order to comprehensively drive forward digitalization, the company is focusing on the further expansion of the IT infrastructure in the hospitals and the online patient portal, which accompanies our patients before, during, and after their stay in hospital. In Germany, Helios has set itself clear goals: by the end of 2022, additional medical data such as nursing care documentation and medication should be available in the digital patient file at all clinics. The Helios patient portal is also to be introduced at all clinics. 

Moreover, Fresenius Helios is also focusing on health apps for the chronically ill. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, telemedical applications are increasingly in demand ‒ more than 8,900 video consultations were booked by patients in 2021. The company will continue to expand this service in its healthcare facilities and offer it on a shared platform. Medical consultations are already being conducted via video. Numerous facilities already offer such video consultations on a regular basis. Moreover, Fresenius Helios is driving forward initiatives focused on occupational medicine for company employees, as well as prevention programs.

Fresenius Vamed’s goal is to realize further projects in integrated healthcare services and to support healthcare systems more efficiently. In addition, state-of-the-art standards such as the use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) in the construction of health care facilities, new concepts for operational management through the application of innovative technologies, and digitalization measures contribute to the improvement of medical care as well as to the relief of medical professionals.

Fresenius is committed to continuously improving Group profitability and capital efficiency. For example, our financial medium-term goals foresee that over the coming years we will increase net income^1,2 more strongly than sales.

To contain costs, we initiated a cost and efficiency program in 2021 and achieved initial cost savings. The measures to sustainably increase profitability and operational excellence are targeted to lead to cost savings of at least €150 million p.a. after taxes and minority interest in 2023, with some further potential to increase thereafter.

Moreover, we foster intra-Group coordination and collaboration, and continue to identify specific measures that optimize our portfolio and make Fresenius an even more effective organization.

By focusing on our operating cash flow and employing efficient working capital management, we are expanding our scope for investment and improving our balance sheet ratios. We also aim to optimize our weighted average cost of capital (WACC). To this end, we are focusing on a balanced mix of equity and debt and striving to achieve a net debt / EBITDA³ ratio within a range of 3.0× to 3.5×.

¹ Net income attributable to the shareholders of Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA
² Before special items
³ Both net debt and EBITDA calculated at LT M average exchange rates; before special items, pro forma closed acquisitions / divestitures. For pro forma acquisitions, the missing pro forma EBITDA for the full 12 months is included. For divestments, the EBITDA contribution of the last 12 months is deducted.

Fresenius’ goal is to ensure and expand its long-term position as a leading international provider of products, services, and therapies in the healthcare industry. To this end, and to geographically expand our business, we plan to grow organically as well as through selective small to medium-sized acquisitions, complementing our existing portfolio. We are constantly seeking new above-average growth opportunities in developing as well as in emerging countries. Our aim is to strengthen our activities in these regions and successively introduce further products from our portfolio into these markets.

Fresenius Medical Care is the worldwide leader in dialysis, with a strong market position in the United States. Future opportunities in dialysis will arise from the further global expansion of dialysis services products. 

Fresenius Kabi is the market leader in infusion therapy in Europe and Latin America. In clinical nutrition therapy, Fresenius Kabi is market leader in Europe as well as in the key markets in Asia-Pacific (including China); in Latin America, Fresenius Kabi is one of the three leading providers of clinical nutrition. In the area of IV generic drugs, Fresenius Kabi is one of the leading companies in the U.S. market. In the biosimilars product segment, Fresenius Kabi started with launches of its first biosimilar product, Idacio, in Europe in 2019. In 2021, the company continued to launch Idacio in several European countries and has received marketing authorization in selected countries in Latin America and Asia-Pacific, as well as in Israel and Canada. In addition, Fresenius Kabi is one of the leading suppliers in the field of transfusion technology and medical devices. 

With 90 hospitals, Fresenius Helios operates in nearly all of Germany. Building on this, Fresenius Helios is now in a position to develop new patient care models. To benefit from the trend towards outpatient treatment, Helios Germany has been expanding outpatient service offerings. Helios Spain has attractive growth opportunities through the expansion and construction of hospitals, and potential for further consolidation in the highly fragmented private hospital market in Spain. Fresenius Helios will exploit upcoming opportunities for cross-border synergies in areas such as laboratory services and joint purchasing. The cross-border exchange of experience and knowledge is creating the economic prerequisites for the further internationalization of our hospital business. In the field of fertility services, the company intends to grow organically and through acquisitions. 

Fresenius Vamed plans to further strengthen its position as a global specialist for projects and services for hospitals and other healthcare facilities. In Central Europe, Fresenius Vamed is one of the leading providers of rehabilitation services. Furthermore, the collaboration with Fresenius Helios has been further intensified. This applies, for example, to technical services and purchasing, where both companies are cooperating on selected products.

Statements on market position according to company research

The commitment of our more than 300,000 employees worldwide is key for the success and sustained growth of Fresenius. We firmly believe in a culture of diversity, as we are convinced that different perspectives, opinions, experiences, and values enable Fresenius to continue successfully growing as a global healthcare company. To tackle the upcoming challenges, attracting new employees is key for the growth of our company. We regularly participate in recruiting events and career fairs to attract new talent, and invite our management to meet future Fresenius employees at the “Meet the Board” career day. In the past two years, these events were held virtually or in compliance with special hygiene measures in accordance with the general conditions. Not only do we try to attract new talent, but also do everything we can to retain and develop our employees over the long term. We offer a variety of flexible working-time models and incentive programs to ensure that our long-term needs for highly qualified employees are met. Furthermore, we offer our employees opportunities to develop their careers in an international and dynamic environment.