• Economic environment
• Health care industry
• The Management Board ’s assessment of the general economic developments
• Significant factors affecting operating performance
• The Management Board ’s assessment of business results
• Comparison of the actual business results with the forecasts

The Management Board ’s assessment of the effect of general economic developments and those in the health care sector for Fresenius

The continued weakening of world economic growth in 2009 has had negligible impact on our industry thus far. On the whole, the health care sector, both in mature and growth markets, developed positively for Fresenius in 2009. While this was responsible for much of the Group’s growth, strong demand for its products and services enabled Fresenius to outpace the growth of its respective markets.