100 Years of Fresenius – From a Local Pharmacy to a Global Corporation

From its origins in the laboratory of a Frankfurt pharmacy, Fresenius has grown over the past 100 years into a global health care group. As the company celebrates its centennial on October 1, 2012, Fresenius products and services are improving lives around the world.

A century after Dr. Eduard Fresenius established the pharmaceutical business that took his name, his entrepreneurial values and commitment to quality and innovation in the service of patients continue to shape Fresenius.

Dr. Fresenius started the pharmaceutical company on October 1, 1912, when he expanded the lab of his historic "Hirsch Pharmacy" into a small manufacturing operation specializing in infusion solutions and other products. Following the devastation of World War II, Dr. Fresenius was working to reorganize the businesses when he died suddenly in 1946, leaving the business to his 21-year-old foster daughter, Else Fernau. She later married Hans Kröner, and over the following decades the couple together developed the manufacturing operations into an international health care group.

A momentous step came in 1966, when the company started selling imported dialysis machines and dialyzers. Fresenius then launched its own dialysis machine in 1979 – the A2008, which became the world's top seller. Its market-leading position has since been expanded with successor models. In the early 1980s, Fresenius developed the first dialysis filters out of polysulfone, opening up a new era in the treatment of kidney disease, and in 1996 the company took the decisive step of becoming an integrated provider: Merging Fresenius' dialysis business segment with the U.S. dialysis provider National Medical Care created Fresenius Medical Care, the world's leading dialysis company, with a strong footprint in the U.S. In 2011, the company treated more than 140,000 dialysis patients in North America, and over 85 percent of all dialysis machines installed in U.S. dialysis clinics and centers were made by Fresenius Medical Care.

Major milestones have been achieved by the Group's other business segments, as well. In 1999, the merger of Pharmacia & Upjohn's international infusions business with Fresenius' pharmaceutical business segment created Fresenius Kabi, a leading global provider of infusion therapy, clinical nutrition, and I.V. generic drugs. Since the mid-1990s, Fresenius has offered planning, construction and management services for hospitals and other health care facilities. And, since its 2005 acquisition of HELIOS Kliniken, Fresenius has also been one of Germany's leading private hospital operators.

Fresenius, listed on the Frankfurt stock exchange since 1986, exceeded the level of 1 billion German marks (~€500 million) in sales in 1990. By the end of the 1990s, sales had again grown dramatically, to over €6 billion. Fresenius has in fact grown steadily since the 1990s, and successfully strengthened its global presence.

Over the last decade, few companies have matched Fresenius' dynamic, consistent growth: Between 2002 and 2011, sales more than doubled, operating profit (EBIT) more than tripled, and net income rose more than five-fold. During this period, the company expanded in established markets and in emerging market countries. In China, for example, Fresenius is among the leading providers of clinical nutrition, infusion therapy, and dialysis products.

All signs point to continued growth

With 2011 sales of about €16.5 billion, net income of some €770 million and more than 160,000 employees, about the half of them in Europe and a third in North America, Fresenius is one of the world's leading health care companies. Fresenius and Fresenius Medical Care shares are listed in Germany's benchmark DAX30 stock index.

Looking ahead, Fresenius is well positioned to benefit from demographic change, which will lead more patients in the industrialized nations to seek innovative treatments, and from increasing access to high-quality health care in developing countries. Both of these major global health care trends promise to significantly boost long-term demand for the company's products and services.

With its 100 years of experience and a century-long commitment to human health, Fresenius is excellently positioned to provide a steadily increasing number of patients around the world with high-quality, integrated health care.

Note to the media: An electronic press kit with texts, images and audio and video footage related to this press release can be found at www.fresenius.com/f100.