Dialysis firm Fresenius Medical Care reports Q1 slightly below expectations

(Reuters) - German dialysis specialist Fresenius Medical Care on Wednesday posted a lower-than-expected net income for the first quarter, weighed down by high coronavirus-related deaths among its patients and elevated labour costs in the U.S.

The quarterly net income of the world's largest provider of dialysis treatments dropped 37% to 157 million euros ($165.09 million), against 159 million euros expected by analysts polled by Vara Research.

The group maintained its earlier forecast for revenue and net income growth at low- to mid-single-digit percentage rates in 2022.

($1 = 0.9510 euros)

(Reporting by Milla Nissi and Jagoda Darlak in Gdansk; editing by Uttaresh.V)