German engineering giant Siemens AG yesterday confirmed its full-year forecast as it reported stable profit and slightly increased revenue in the second quarter.
Siemens, which runs its business year from October to September, said in a statement that net profit edged up 0.7 percent to 1.45 billion euros (US$1.58 billion) in the period from January to March.
Revenue was up 6 percent at 20.2 billion euros.
Siemens said it achieved strong growth in revenue in all its industrial businesses, ranging from wind turbines and power plants to trains and medical equipment.
Nevertheless, increased taxes and the winding down of some activities limited growth in the Munich-based group’s bottom line.
Meanwhile, Siemens said its order book swelled by 2 percent to 22.6 billion euros in the January-to-March period.
“We delivered another strong team performance and continued to outperform the markets,” chief executive Joe Kaeser said.
In the second half of the year, Siemens is to integrate newly purchased software firm Mentor Graphics Inc, acquired at the end of last year, into its business.
The US-based company is seen by managers as key to developing Siemens’ vision of future factories.
A second priority is the launch of wind turbine subsidiary Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, born from a merger with Spanish manufacturer Gamesa Corp Tecnologica SA.
Across the whole business, Siemens confirmed its forecast for the full financial year, expecting to report “modest” revenue growth.
Meanwhile, the group is aiming for a profit margin in its industrial business of between 11 and 12 percent, with earnings per share between 7.20 and 7.70 euros.
Siemens offered no new hints about the future of its “Healthineers” medical division.
Although it remains comfortably profitable, the unit is slated for a separate stock market flotation, as executives see little connection to the rest of the group.
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