Siemens 1Q Net Profit After Prior Year Gain, Operating Profit Up 20%
January 27 2009 - 1:40AM
Dow Jones News
Siemens AG (SI) Tuesday said first quarter net profit was 81%
lower than a year ago, when the figure was boosted by a
multi-billion euro gain from an asset sale, but operating profit
from its core business and revenue rose.
"We are sticking to our 2009 targets, even though reaching them
has become more ambitious," Chief Executive Peter Loescher said in
a statement.
Siemens still targets operating profit from its three main
sectors in a range of EUR8 billion to EUR8.5 billion in fiscal
2009, which ends Sep. 30. Operating profit in Siemens' core
business was EUR6.52 billion last year.
Net profit in the October to December quarter fell to EUR1.2
billion from EUR6.43 billion a year earlier, when Siemens booked a
gain of around EUR5.4 billion related to the sale of Siemens VDO
Automotive.
Operating profit for Siemens' core three sectors of industry,
energy and healthcare, the key measure of its operational strength,
rose 20% to EUR2.01 billion. Revenue rose 7% to EUR19.63
billion.
However, order intake, which indicates future revenue, fell 8%
to EUR22.22 billion.
Siemens' first quarter results beat analysts' expectations which
called for sales of EUR19.24 billion and core operating profit of
EUR1.81 billion. Order intake was in line with expectations for
EUR22.25 billion.
Siemens' market capialization halved in the last 52 weeks in
line with Dutch peer Royal Philips Electronics NV(PHG), but its
shares performed better than those of U.S. competitor General
Electric Co. (GE).
Siemens shares closed Monday at EUR43.54, up 4.4%, outperforming
a higher overall market.
Company Web site: www.siemens.com
-By Archibald Preuschat, Dow Jones Newswires, +49 69 297 25 505,
archibald.preuschat@dowjones.com
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