Siemens profits up on software businesses

MUNICH

Germany industrial giant Siemens said yesterday its profits rose sharply in the third quarter due to a strong performance from its software and infrastructure businesses, and confirmed its full-year outlook.

From April to June, net profit came in at 1.98 billion euros ($2.2 billion), up about 50 percent from a year earlier, as revenues increased four percent to 18.9 billion euros.

Orders at the group, whose products range from trains to factory equipment, were however down 16 percent. Siemens runs its fiscal year from October to September.

Siemens said in a statement that it saw "higher volume order in most industrial businesses" in the quarter.

The results were helped particularly by "exceptionally high order growth in the software business" due to winning major contracts, it said.

Its Smart Infrastructure division, which deals with areas like data centres and battery makers, also performed well, with revenues up 10 percent from a year earlier.

However, revenues were lower in its industrial automation business.

Its "mobility" division reported that orders were down about 70 percent compared to the same quarter last year, when it had won large contracts in Egypt and Germany, but its revenues still edged up.

The Munich-based group confirmed its outlook of achieving revenue growth of four to eight percent over the full year.

Siemens had long been a producer of heavy industrial equipment but has in recent years sought to shift its focus towards digital technology and factory automation.