Siemens to sign off 2012 with strong growth

Siemens said in fiscal 2012, Siemens achieved a 7 per cent  gain in revenue and a strong profit. Income from continuing operations was €5.2 billion ($6.76 billion) and thus in line with expectations. New orders declined 10 per cent year-over-year.

“A strong fourth quarter enabled us to fulfill our expectations for fiscal 2012 and achieve one of our best years ever,” said Peter Löscher, president and chief executive officer of Siemens AG. “Even so, we didn’t fully succeed in significantly boosting our performance vis-à-vis competitors, as we did in recent years. To get back to reaching our own goals, we’ve launched ‘Siemens 2014,’ a company-wide programme aimed at raising our Total Sectors profit margin to at least 12 per cent. We know what we have to do –and we’re doing it.”

In fiscal 2012, ended on September 30, 2012, new orders declined year-over-year by 10 per cent from €85.2 billion ($110.76 billion) to €76.9 billion ($99.97 billion) while revenue, in contrast, rose 7 per cent company-wide, thanks to the sustained strong order backlog and positive currency translation effects in all sectors, from €73.3 billion ($95.29 billion) to €78.3 ($101.8 billion) billion. The book-to-bill ratio was 0.98. The order backlog reached €98 billion ($127.4 billion).

In the energy sector, new orders declined year-over-year by 14 per cent to €26.9 billion ($34.97 billion), due in part to a lower volume of major orders than in the prior year. Sector revenue, on the contrary, climbed 12 per cent to €27.5 billion ($35.75 billion).

The healthcare sector showed a positive development, with both new
orders and revenue above prior-year levels. While new orders grew five per cent from €13.1 billion ($17 billion) in the previous year to €13.8 billion ($17.94 billion), revenue climbed 9 per cent from €12.5 billion ($16.25 billion) to €13.6 billion ($17.68 billion).

The Industry Sector posted new orders worth €20 billion ($26 billion) following a total of €20.2 billion ($26.26 billion) in the previous year. Revenue rose 5 per cent to €20.5 billion ($26.65 billion). At the infrastructure and cities sector, new orders dropped 20 per cent to €17.2 billion ($22.36 billion), primarily due to the major rail business orders booked in the prior year, such as for the ICx – the biggest order in the company’s history.

Although Siemens achieved one of the best results in the company’s history in fiscal 2012, the company lagged behind its own high objectives defined in the One Siemens target system. With its two-year “Siemens 2014” programme, the company is aiming to reduce costs by €6 billion ($7.8 billion), increase its competitiveness, and become faster and less bureaucratic. The goal is to increase the total sectors profit margin from 9.5 per cent in fiscal 2012 to at least 12 per cent by fiscal 2014.

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.