Siemens expects third quarter growth


Engineering powerhouse Siemens says it expects new orders to increase again in the third quarter of fiscal year 2011, driven by a major order in May for new ICx long-distance trains.

The company also anticipates a clear increase in revenue compared to the same period a year earlier.

“We're continuing to invest strongly in innovation and the expansion of our global market footprint,” said Siemens CFO Joe Kaeser at the Siemens Capital Market Day in Shanghai on Tuesday. “Our growth expectations have come along in the third quarter."

New orders for the quarter ending 30 June 2011 are expected to significantly exceed the level of €19.2 billion reached in the third quarter of fiscal 2010 and also exceed the level of some €20.7 billion reached in the strong second quarter of fiscal 2011.

The company said revenue would likely exceed the previous year’s figure of €17.4 billion and stabilize at the level of about €17.7 billion. Third-quarter volume growth and profit will be supported primarily by the Industry and Energy Sectors, while parts of Healthcare still have to deal with difficult competitive and technology conditions.

Adjusted for the effect on profit of the Areva payment, net income from continuing operations in the third quarter is expected to be slightly above the level of the comparable prior-year quarter of around €1.4 billion.

In the middle of May 2011, Siemens was ordered to pay Areva €648 million plus interest as a result of its withdrawal from a nuclear technology joint venture.

The above estimates for new orders, revenue and net income also do not include Siemens IT Solutions and Services (SIS), the Osram Division or the related effects on profit: these have been classified as discontinued operations since the second quarter of the current fiscal year. In mid-December 2010, Siemens announced that it was selling Siemens IT Solutions and Services to Atos Origin. At the end of March, Siemens announced its intention to publicly list the Osram Division in the fall of 2011.