Siemens will sell its 25 percent stake in Dräger Medical AG & Co. KG to majority shareholder Dräger. Ownership of the medical engineering company will then be fully transferred to Dräger. Proceeds of the sale will have a minimum value of about €250 million. The Managing Board of Drägerwerk Verwaltungs AG, as personally liable shareholder of Drägerwerk AG & Co. KGaA, and the Managing Board of Siemens AG have agreed to the transaction, which is still subject to regulatory approval.
Atherosclerosis, more commonly known as arterial clogging, is the most widespread disease in most nations of the world. In a recent presentation at the Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association meeting in Orlando, Fla., an international research team has documented that the people of antiquity suffered from clogged arteries, as well. Through the use of a SOMATOM® Emotion 6 computed tomography (CT) scanner from Siemens Healthcare, the team discovered the atherosclerosis in Egyptian mummies as old as 3,500 years.
Roland Chalons-Browne (53) has been appointed CEO of Siemens Financial Services, effective February 1, 2010. He will succeed Dominik Asam, who is leaving Siemens in March 2010 at his own request. Roland Chalons-Browne, a U.S. citizen, began his career in 1977 at Lloyds Bank International, where he rose from the position of Assistant Vice President to Branch Manager in New York. From 1981 to 1989, he worked at Mellon Bank. In 1989, he moved to WestLB, where, among other things, he was responsible, as a Managing Director, for the European and American market until 2005.
Siemens IT Solutions and Services will get a new management. Former CEO Christoph Kollatz (49) is stepping down from his position effective immediately. Christian Oecking (47), head of the Global Operations Business Unit, will serve as acting head of Siemens IT Solutions and Services until preparations for appointing a new CEO for the cross sector business can be completed.
Siemens AG will distribute funds totaling US$100 million, over 15 years, to nonprofit organizations worldwide that promote business integrity and fight corruption. Applications for support from the Siemens Integrity Initiative can be submitted as of today. “Siemens stands for clean and sustainable business,” said Peter Y. Solmssen, Member of the Managing Board and General Counsel of Siemens AG. “This initiative will boost our efforts for more business integrity and fair market conditions globally. We are looking forward to making this a joint success with the World Bank and other partners.”
Copenhagen is the “greenest” major city in Europe, followed by Stockholm, Oslo, Vienna, and Amsterdam. This is the conclusion reached by a unique study of the environmental sustainability of 30 major cities in 30 European countries that Siemens presented during the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. In addition to analyzing these cities’ achievements and objectives in the area of environmental and climate protection, the European Green City Index makes the differences transparent. The study evaluates the 30 cities in eight categories: CO2 emissions; energy; buildings; transportation; water; air quality; waste and land use; and environmental governance. “We support the cities’ efforts to achieve efficient climate protection by providing them with comprehensive standardized data,” said Dr. Reinhold Achatz, head of Corporate Research and Technologies, the central research unit of Siemens AG. “Cities can use this study to prioritize their actions in reducing their carbon footprint.”
"In a very difficult environment, Siemens has performed very well in 2009 compared to its key competitors. Supported by our Energy and Healthcare Sectors, we can look back with pride on our stable revenue development and our robust profit on a operational basis. With new energy we started in fiscal 2010 and have strengthened our portfolio by the addition of Solel. We see substantial further potential worldwide in the area of environmental technology. To ensure the sustainable viability of businesses that have been particularly affected by the crisis we are continuing to rigorously implement all necessary measures. The overall market environment will remain challenging in 2010."
Siemens AG is reckoning with much higher savings from more efficient real estate management than previously expected. By bundling the worldwide responsibility for all real estate activities under the roof of the internal real estate specialist Siemens Real Estate (SRE), the annual costs are to be reduced by over €250 million from 2011 and by up to €400 million from 2014 by comparison with the level of 2008. “We have been very successful with our program to optimize administration costs and now want to increase the efficiency of our real estate management. We will achieve this by significantly improving surface area productivity and coordinating the infrastructure services,” said Joe Kaeser, Siemens CFO. The implementation of the program for bundling the real estate activities will at first entail costs totaling an estimated €300 million by fiscal 2013 due to the reduction of unused spaces and the consolidation of real estate.
Siemens demonstrated operational strength in a difficult economic environment in fiscal 2009. Growth and profit targets were met and, in part, substantially exceeded. The company continued to push its focus on its core businesses, and further expanded its Environmental Portfolio, one of the important growth drivers at Siemens. The procurement initiative and the program to reduce selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses further strengthened Siemens’ competitiveness. “In a very difficult environment, Siemens has performed very well in 2009 compared to its key competitors. Supported by our Energy and Healthcare Sectors, we can look back with pride on our stable revenue development and our robust profit on an operational basis,” said Peter Löscher, President and Chief Executive Officer of Siemens AG. “With new energy we started in fiscal 2010 and have strengthened our portfolio by the addition of Solel. We see substantial further potential worldwide in the area of environmental technology. To ensure the sustainable viability of businesses that have been particularly affected by the crisis, we are continuing to rigorously implement all necessary measures. The overall market environment will remain challenging in 2010.”