(Bloomberg) -- Fresenius SE raised its forecast based on strong demand for intravenous drugs and began detailing its exit from Vamed, the company’s smallest business unit.

Earnings will probably grow as much as 10% before interest and taxes in 2024, the company said in a statement Tuesday, up from a previous target of as much as 8% growth. Revenue is also expected to rise faster than previously projected, it said.

Since taking over in October 2022, Chief Executive Officer Michael Sen has worked to sharpen the focus of the German health-care company that investors complained was too complex. He’s prioritizing growth at the Kabi intravenous-drug unit and Helios division, which owns and operates hospitals in Europe and Latin America.

Fresenius has started a “structured exit” from its Vamed hospital management and services business and reflected that change in its updated forecast.

“With the exit from Vamed, our strategic portfolio restructuring has been completed as planned,” Sen said in a statement Wednesday. “Fresenius is already a simpler, stronger, and more innovative company.”

Sen had already begun paring back the Vamed division, which houses everything from a hospital project development business to services for nurses. The company announced plans last week to sell a controlling stake in the Vamed rehabilitation business, which includes 67 facilities located in central Europe and the UK.

Read more: Fresenius Said to Plan Elimination of Vamed in Streamlining Step

Bloomberg News first reported Fresenius’s Vamed exit plans earlier Tuesday, saying that the company would sell or wind down parts of that business and integrate other pieces into existing divisions.  

First-quarter earnings reached €0.76 ($0.82) per share before special items, Fresenius said Wednesday. That exceeded the 61-cent average estimate among analysts. Among other things, the company benefited from 117% growth of Kabi’s biopharma business, which has launched new biosimilar medicines in both Europe and the US.

Fresenius still plans to achieve annual cost savings of about €400 million by 2025, it said. To get there, it expects to book one-time costs of as much as €100 million this year and next year. 

Last year, Fresenius separated from its kidney-dialysis services division, Fresenius Medical Care AG, but kept a 32% holding.

Fresenius shares are up more than 10% over the past 12 months, slightly trailing Germany’s benchmark DAX index.

(Updates with information throughout)

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