In presenting its first-quarter figures for fiscal 2008, Siemens once again proved its operational performance. Group profit from Operations rose 16% year-over-year to €1.719 billion from €1.485 billion, and income from continuing operations was €1.078 billion, up 74% from €621 million in the prior-year period. Net income was €6.475 billion compared to €788 million in the first quarter a year earlier, reflecting in particular a gain of approximately €5.4 billion related to the sale of Siemens’ automotive business. EPS for the first quarter was €7.04 compared to €0.83 in the same period a year earlier. In addition, Siemens achieved strong and balanced organic growth for the quarter. Excluding the net effect of portfolio transactions and currency translation, both revenue and orders rose 8% compared to the prior-year quarter. Revenue in the first quarter was €18.400 billion, compared to €16.729 billion in the prior year, and orders were at €24.242 billion, compared to €22.244 billion in the same period a year earlier.
“Siemens’ strong fundamental growth opportunities remain in place, as shown by our organic revenue growth of 8% and a book-to-bill ratio above 1.3 in the first quarter,” commented Siemens’ CEO Peter Löscher. “We confirm our outlook for the full fiscal year: growing revenues at least twice as fast as global GDP and growing Group Profit from Operations at least twice as fast our revenues.”
Majority of Groups improved profit
The majority of Groups in Operations increased both Group profit and Group profit margin compared to the first quarter a year ago. Leaders were Automation and Drives (A&D), Industrial Solutions and Services (I&S) and Power Transmission and Distribution (PTD), which achieved high double-digit growth in Group profit compared to the first quarter a year earlier. Group profit declined at Power Generation (PG) and Transportation Systems (TS), as both Groups took higher charges at major projects compared to the prior-year period.
Revenue and new orders grow on a broad basis
Nearly all Groups within Operations increased their revenue on an organic basis compared to the first quarter a year earlier. Groups with double-digit increases included A&D, PTD, PG and I&S. Similarly, a majority of Groups booked a higher level of new orders year-over-year, led by PG and A&D. From a geographic perspective, topline growth was regionally balanced. The exception was Germany, where revenue and orders came in lower year-over-year primarily due to a high basis of comparison in the prior-year period, particularly involving PG.
Major portfolio transactions closed
Siemens completed two major portfolio transactions, including the sale of Siemens VDO Automotive which generated net proceeds of approximately €11.4 billion and the purchase of Dade Behring Holdings, Inc. with associated cash outflows of approximately €4.8 billion.
Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a global powerhouse in electronics and electrical engineering, operating in the industry, energy and healthcare sectors. The company has around 400,000 employees (in continuing operations) working to develop and manufacture products, design and install complex systems and projects, and tailor a wide range of solutions for individual requirements. For over 160 years, Siemens has stood for technical achievements, innovation, quality, reliability and internationality. In fiscal 2007, Siemens had revenue of €72.4 billion and income from continuing operations of €3.9 billion (IFRS). Further information is available at www.siemens.com.