Siemens enters 2013 with full head of steam

The company reported that it was starting fiscal 2013 with solid figures globally. Compared to the same period last year, revenue increased slightly in the first quarter due to the good order backlog.

Although new orders declined moderately year-over-year, the book-to-bill ratio was again above 1, having been below 1 for the previous three quarters in a row.

Siemens’s total sectors profit rose 4 per cent. “In an uncertain economic environment, we got off to a solid start in fiscal 2013. For the rest of the year as well, we don’t expect any tailwinds from the global economy to help us reach our ambitious goals. Our full attention is on implementing our Siemens 2014 programme,” said Siemens president Peter Löscher.

In the first quarter of fiscal 2013, which ended on December 31, 2012, new orders
totaled 19.1 billion euros ($24.83 billion), 3 per cent below the figure for the prior-year period.
 
Revenue rose 2 per cent to $23.53 billion. The book-to-bill ratio was 1.06 in the first quarter. At the end of the first quarter, the order backlog stood at 97 billion euros ($126.1 billion). Total sectors profit increased 4 per cent to 1.7 billion euros ($2.21 billion). The sectors’ profit margin rose from 9.0 to 9.3 per cent. Income from continuing operations came in slightly  lower at 1.3 billion euros ($1.69 billion). Net income declined year-over-year from 1.4 billion euros ($1.82 billion) to 1.2 billion euros ($1.56 billion).

Siemens said its outlook remains unchanged. In fiscal 2013, Siemens begins implementation of Siemens 2014, a company-wide programme supporting its One Siemens framework for sustainable value creation. The goal of the programme is to raise its total sectors profit margin to at least 12 per cent by fiscal 2014.

In the first year of the programme, the company expects moderate order growth and revenue approaching the level of fiscal 2012, both on an organic basis. Siemens expects income from continuing operations in the range from 4.5 billion euros ($5.85 billion) to five billion euros ($6.5 billion).

According to Siemens, this outlook was based on a number of conditions, notably that revenue develops as expected particularly for businesses that were sensitive to short-term changes in the economic environment. Furthermore, it excludes impacts related to legal and regulatory matters and significant portfolio effects.