Siemens profit more than doubles in fourth quarter, revenue climbs

Berlin, Nov. 17, (dpa/GNA) - German conglomerate Siemens reported on Thursday that net income more than doubled, to €2.91 billion ($3 billion) in the fourth quarter, up from last year’s €1.33 billion. 

At €4.4 billion, the company’s bottom line for the fiscal year fell by 34%, mainly due to to a billion-euro writedown on the remaining shares in former energy business Siemens Energy, which was floated on the stock exchange in the summer. 

The firm’s withdrawal from Russia due to the war in Ukraine also had a negative impact on business. 

Siemens chief executive Roland Busch spoke of an “extremely challenging year” and an “outstanding performance.” Siemens had gained market share and the high demand for the group’s hardware and software offerings continued, he stressed. 

Basic earnings per share rose to €3.39, compared to €1.45 a year ago. Earnings per share before purchase price allocation accounting climbed to €3.59, from €1.61 last year. 

Revenue for the fourth quarter climbed 18%, to €20.57 billion, from €17.44 billion a year ago. 

Orders increased 14% to €21.82 billion, from €19.07 billion last year. 

On a comparable basis, excluding currency translation and portfolio effects, revenue rose 12% and orders grew 7%. 

Further, Siemens proposed to increase the dividend to €4.25 per share, up from €4 a year earlier. 

Looking ahead for fiscal 2023, Siemens expects profitable growth of industrial businesses to drive an increase in basic earnings per share pre-PPA to a range of €8.70 to €9.20 in fiscal 2023. 

In fiscal 2022, earnings per share pre PPA was €5.47. 

The company projects comparable revenue growth, net of currency translation and portfolio effects, in the range of 6% to 9%. 

GNA