Fresenius Q32024 $FRE (-0,26 %)
Financial performance:
- Sales: Fresenius achieved sales of €5.3 billion in the third quarter of 2024, representing strong organic growth of 9%.
- EBIT: EBIT amounted to €552 million in the third quarter, up 9% year-on-year.
- Net profit: Excluding FMC, net profit reached 312 million euros, an increase of 7%.
Key points of the income statement:
- Sales growth was mainly driven by the Kabi and Helios segments, with EBIT growth indicating operational improvements.
Cash flow overview:
- Operating cash flow (OCF): OCF increased to EUR 763 million in the third quarter of 2024, compared to EUR 603 million in the prior-year quarter.
- Free cash flow (FCF): FCF improved significantly and reached 623 million euros, compared to just 102 million euros in the previous year.
Key figures and profitability metrics:
- Net debt/EBITDA: The leverage ratio fell to 3.24x, a decrease of 52 basis points since the end of 2023.
- Interest expenses: Interest expenses increased to 116 million euros in the third quarter of 2024, compared to 102 million euros in the same quarter last year.
- Tax rate: The effective tax rate was 24.5% in the third quarter.
Segment development:
- Kabi: Sales increased by 8%, excluding the impact of currency fluctuations.
- Helios: The Helios segment recorded sales growth of 5 %.
Competitive position:
- Fresenius is implementing its strategy #FutureFresenius to optimize the portfolio and further improve the operating model.
Management forecasts and assessments:
- The company has raised its guidance for the financial year 2024 and now expects to reach the upper end of the EBIT growth range.
- Management remains optimistic of achieving mid to high single-digit organic sales growth.
Risks and opportunities:
- Risks: The economic weakness in China and regulatory changes pose challenges.
- Opportunities: Biopharma continues to show momentum and contribute positively to EBIT.
Summary of results:
Strengths:
- Strong organic sales growth of 9%.
- Significant improvement in free cash flow.
- Operational improvements led to EBIT growth.
- Successful deleveraging measures reduced the debt ratio.
- Positive forecast adjustment for the 2024 financial year.
- Challenges:
- Continued weakness in the Chinese market.
- Higher interest expenses burden profitability.
- Seasonal weaknesses in the hospital business impacted Q3 results.
- Regulatory hurdles in the USA make capacity expansions more difficult.
- Possible impact of elective surgery on parts of the portfolio.