Shares in Fresenius Medical Care (Xetra: 578580 - news) slide to the bottom of German blue-chip index DAX (Xetra: ^GDAXI - news) as the effect of higher costs in the U.S. and currency swings on earnings catches the market off guard.
FMC (NYSE: FMC - news) drops 4.4 percent at 0804 GMT, while the benchmark DAX gains 0.6 percent, after first-quarter net income at the world's largest dialysis provider comes in about 12 percent below expectations.
"This quarter will do little, in our view, to restore FMC's credentials as a reliable deliverer of earnings growth," says Berenberg Bank analyst Tom Jones, adding that a number of smaller negative factors are adding up.
In addition, FMC says chances of the U.S. government reversing healthcare budget cuts introduced earlier this year are slimming. Equinet Bank analyst Konrad Lieder says this points to FMC reaching the lower end of its 2013 earnings target range or potentially missing it.
Reuters messaging rm://ludwig.burger.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net
