Requirements for state funds
Fresenius puts question marks over dividend
September 30, 2023, 10:45 a.m
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The DAX group Fresenius receives state aid for its clinic subsidiary Helios. Now he is unsure whether he can still pay dividends to his shareholders and pay bonuses to managers. If necessary, a court will have to clarify this.
The healthcare group Fresenius is examining whether it can pay dividends or bonuses for the current year in view of the state aid it has received. The relevant law is “complex and partly unclear,” said Fresenius boss Michael Sen to the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung”. This leads to “significant interpretation uncertainties”. A spokesman added that Fresenius is currently examining the relevant regulations and the legal consequences very carefully. There will also be exchanges with the recently established testing authority. “Only on the basis of such a careful examination will Fresenius make the necessary decisions – including on the question of compensation payments in the second half of 2023.”
Fresenius owns the hospital operator Helios, which received 88 million euros in state aid in the first half of this year to compensate for increased energy costs. According to the annual report, the group could claim further compensation payments in the second half of the year. The question now arises as to whether the company will not be allowed to pay any bonuses or dividends for 2023 because of the state aid.
Fresenius boss Sen did not rule out possibly going to court: “In the end, we will look at this very closely and make the necessary decisions based on careful consideration, in the interests of increasing the value of the company and our shareholders,” said he.
For the past year, Fresenius paid an unchanged dividend of 92 cents per share and distributed a total of 518 million euros. Management’s stated goal is to align the dividend with currency-adjusted growth in earnings per share, or at least to maintain the previous year’s level.