GDANSK, Feb 20 Reuters Fresenius Medical Care on Tuesday forecast its core earnings to grow by a mid to highteens percentage this year, after the German dialysis specialist39;s fourthquarter earnings topped market expectations.

Last year, the company39;s adjusted operating income increased by 15 to 1.7 billion euros 1.83 billion.

Based on the turnaround progress achieved last year, we have a strong foundation to build on to make 2024 a year of accelerated profitable growth, CEO Helen Giza said.

Supported by its costcutting plan FME25, the German firm managed to save about 350 million euros during the year, almost 50 million euros more than initially planned.

In 2023, FMC sold 127 facilities with a headcount of more than 4,500 employees in the United States, Argentina and Australia.

FMC, which employs 120,000 people in 4,000 clinics globally, said its adjusted operating income grew 18 to 555 million euros in the OctoberDecember period, compared with a median consensus of 546 million in a poll by Vara Research.

Earnings for FMC, the world39;s biggest dialysis provider, are recovering after they were hit by slower patient flows due to excess mortality rates during the pandemic.

Its turnaround plan and a 175millioneuro oneoff payment related to a legal settlement in the United States also helped lift its quarterly numbers.

The company used the proceeds to reduce its net debt by 11 to 10.8 billion euros.

FMC proposed a dividend of 1.19 euros per share for 2023,…