Munich, Germany, 2011-Jan-25
In the first quarter of fiscal 2011, Siemens maintained the positive growth trend of the previous quarters, with a strong 19 percent increase in new orders year-over-year. Revenue also rose sharply by 12 percent. Income from continuing operations reached a record level, increasing 17 percent on strong development in the company’s short-cycle industry activities and power plant business. “Capital-efficient growth is our aspiration. We have lived up to it. Orders and revenue grew in all regions, particularly in emerging markets. From this our business in Germany benefits as well. We delivered excellent bottom-line performance and are fully on track to reach the targets we set for fiscal 2011,” said Siemens President and CEO Peter Löscher. The company confirmed its targets for the current fiscal year 2011 (ends September 30).

In the first quarter of fiscal 2011, which ended on December 31, 2010, new orders soared to €22.588 billion, a 19 percent increase over the comparable period a year earlier. Revenue increased 12 percent to €19.489 billion. Benefiting from positive currency translation effects in the reporting period, new orders and revenue exceeded prior-year levels for the third successive quarter. The company’s book-to-bill ratio in the first quarter was 1.16. At the end of December 2010, the combined order backlog of Siemens’ three Sectors totaled €92 billion, compared to €87 billion at the end of September 2010.

All three Siemens Sectors – Industry, Energy and Healthcare – contributed to order and revenue growth. At the Industry Sector, new orders rose 22 percent and revenue 13 percent year-over-year, led by the Industry Automation and Drive Technologies Divisions. At the Energy Sector, new orders climbed 27 percent and revenue 14 percent, with the surge in new orders driven primarily by the Fossil Power Generation Division and the increase in revenue growth especially by the Renewable Energy Division.

At the Healthcare Sector, new orders increased ten percent and revenue 11 percent compared to the first quarter a year ago. Due to the Sector’s reorganization, financial reporting has changed since the beginning of fiscal 2011. Siemens will now report the key figures for the Healthcare Sector in total and for the Diagnostics Division – which was formed from the acquisitions Dade Behring, Bayer Diagnostics and DPC – additionally.

Siemens’ operating strength was also reflected in its first-quarter profit. Total Sectors profit increased six percent year-over-year to €2.229 billion. This figure includes a burden of €261 million related to the special employee remuneration announced in November 2010. This amount was allocated to the Sectors, after having been accrued centrally in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010, but had no effect on total profit in the first quarter of fiscal 2011. This burden and a decline in Healthcare profit were more than offset by substantial increases in profit at the Industry and Energy Sectors. Income from continuing operations rose 17 percent to €1.787 billion, a new record. This figure includes burdens of €136 million due to a goodwill impairment at Siemens IT Solutions and Services. In December 2010, Siemens announced plans to merge this business into Atos Origin.

With continuing improvement in its markets, Siemens expects organic order intake to show a clear increase compared to fiscal 2010. Supported also by its already strong order backlog, the company expects revenue to return to moderate organic growth. It also anticipates income from continuing operations to exceed reported fiscal 2010 results by at least 25 percent to 35 percent. This outlook excludes effects that may arise from legal and regulatory matters.