Siemens to Buy Back Shares for 3 Billion Euros



11/13/2015 11:32 AM


"We did what we promised. Now we are well prepared to accomplish our plans for the next year", - said General Director of the German company Joe Kaeser. Profit margin in Siemens’s industrial units made 10.1% in fiscal year 2015, which ended Sept. 30. The target was set at 10-11%. Profit in the most indicative units grew by 9% to 2.5 billion euro in the IV financial quarter (consensus - 2.3 billion euros).



siemens
The company said they intends to buy back shares worth up to 3 billion euros during three years. A similar program worth 4 billion euros has just been completed.

Revenue increased by 4% to 21.33 billion euros, new orders – to 15%, helped by the depreciation of the euro against the major currencies, the company said. However, the total net income for the quarter decreased to 959 million euros from 1.45 billion euros a year earlier. It is a result of write-downs and falling profit margins in some divisions, particularly the traditional energy. Despite the difficult macroeconomic situation in the world, Siemens expects "significant" growth in orders and moderate growth adjusted for exchange-rate revenue in 2016 FY. Profit margin in the industrial business for 2016 is expected to stay at 10-11%, just like the ended year. The results were better than expected, DZ Bank analysts said, and forecasts for the next year are "conservative, which is not surprising."
 
Kaeser headed Siemens two years ago and has been carrying a large-scale reorganization ever since. The programme included the sale of assets, restructuring of inefficient businesses, cutting thousands of jobs. The last three years the company's activities can be characterized as stagnation: for example, revenue for 2015 FY has decreased by 1% to 75.5 billion euros.

Industrial business is under pressure due to the Chinese economy’s slowdown. Joe Kaeser’s strategy to expand energy business has been criticized, as oil prices fall, and the oil companies had many projects frozen. Analysts still question feasibility of the acquisition US oil equipment manufacturer Dresser-Rand for $ 7.8 billion. The deal was concluded by the end of June 2015; the last fiscal quarter was the first time when Dresser-Rand’s results have been included in the consolidated financial statements. It allowed the company to show higher revenues and number of orders. In June, Siemens announced that Egypt ordered gas and wind turbines worth in total 8 billion euros.  

source: wsj.com


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