FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German healthcare group Fresenius (>> Fresenius SE & Co KGaA) plans to raise its dividend for the 22nd year in a row after hitting its financial targets for 2014, its chief executive told the Euro am Sonntag newspaper.

"In 2015, the 22nd increase should be possible," Ulf Schneider told the business daily.

Fresenius, which owns Europe's largest private-sector hospitals chain, has forecast 14 to 16 percent sales growth for 2014 and net income growth of 2 to 5 percent, adjusted for currency fluctuations.

"The forecast stands," Schneider said, adding that profitability would stabilise and was not trending downwards.

He declined to confirm that Fresenius had been in talks to buy French food group Danone's (>> DANONE) medical nutrition division to strengthen its own unit, Kabi.

"But generally, it is true that medical nutrition is one of Kabi's core business areas, which we would very much like to expand, given the right opportunities," he said.

People familiar with the matter had told Reuters that Fresenius had been in talks to buy the business before Danone decided last month to keep it.

Schneider said Fresenius had no appetite for further large acquisitions at the moment, after buying 3 billion euros ($3.4 billion) worth of hospitals from Rhoen-Klinikum (>> Rhoen-Klinikum AG) in recent years.

"Our radar remains active but nothing big is imminent," he said, adding that Fresenius had enough financial firepower if it did find the right target and would not need to raise capital.

Fresenius received investment-grade rating from Standard & Poor's last week, the first time a ratings agency had raised it above the so-called "junk" grade.

Schneider added that budget cuts-driven uncertainty over U.S. dialysis payment rates that has hurt its subsidiary Fresenius Medical Care (>> Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA) had settled down for the time being, with clarity about payment cuts until 2017.

FMC brings in about two-thirds of group revenue and is the world's largest kidney dialysis provider.

"But price pressure will remain because dialysis is one of the most expensive treatments for the U.S. health system," Schneider said.

($1 = 0.8923 euros)

(Reporting by Georgina Prodhan, editing by David Evans)