FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Positive quarterly surprises at Fresenius and its subsidiary FMC brought gains for the shares of both companies on Tuesday. In particular, the papers of the hospital operator and medical manufacturer Fresenius went up. The shares rose by 6.4 percent to 27.06 euros, topping the slightly weakening Dax index and reaching their highest level since February.

The shares of the dialysis provider from the MDax, FMC, gained 1.3 percent to 43.16 euros. They were thus also among the favorites in the mid-cap index.

At Fresenius, quarterly sales rose slightly, while operating earnings adjusted for special effects fell far less than analysts had feared. FMC's operating profit was also better than expected, as Jefferies analyst James Vane-Tempest pointed out. However, Bernstein analyst Lisa Bedell Clive cautioned, expectations for the bloodwashing specialist had also been very low. The expert was not surprised by the lack of a major jump in the FMC share price after the figures after the recent good run - since the turn of the year, the price has gained a good 40 percent.

However, the better-than-expected sales and the strong quarterly operating result of the U.S. competitor DaVita from the previous evening, which also raised its annual targets, could have had a supporting effect on FMC.

Jefferies expert Vane-Tempest highlighted in particular the infusion division Kabi, which had been strong. According to him, the subsidiary Vamed was the reason why the annual targets were not raised in the first quarter, as Fresenius had initiated extensive restructuring measures at the hospital services provider.

Analyst Victoria Lambert of private bank Berenberg also praised the encouraging first quarter for Fresenius' core business segments. Kabi's margin, for example, was again within the target range set by management. The Helios hospital division performed as expected and FMC better than expected. The fact that Vamed had again made losses had also been sufficiently communicated in advance./ck/tav/stk