Siemens expects that new orders and revenue at its Sectors will increase again in the fourth quarter of the current fiscal year compared to both the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009 and the third quarter of fiscal 2010. “In all probability, our operating results for the fourth quarter will be very satisfactory. Particularly in new orders, we’re seeing a further upturn in business activity,” said CFO Joe Kaeser in Munich on Monday. The profitability of Siemens’ operations in the first three quarters of fiscal 2010 will probably extend into the fourth quarter as well. Siemens expects Total Sectors profit – excluding the announced impairment of presumably up to €1.4 billion at its diagnostics business – to exceed the comparable prior-year figure of €1.9 billion. Total Sectors profit will probably include restructuring costs of some €150 million – an amount that, due to the business upturn, is less than recently expected.
Siemens has reached an open-ended agreement with its Central Works Council and the IG Metal union covering its future reorganizational activities and structural adjustments in Germany. “This represents a clear and long-term commitment to Germany as a business location. Siemens is a responsible employer. Every single employee is important to us,” said Peter Löscher, President and CEO of Siemens AG.
Siemens will carve out its IT business, Siemens IT Solutions and Services (SIS), as a separate company on October 1, as planned. Set up as a limited liability company (GmbH), the new company will operate under the name Siemens IT Solutions and Services GmbH. The new GmbH will start with a clear, customer-oriented structure. As announced in March, the focus will be shifted from seven business units to three: a worldwide sales organization structured by industry and regional unit will be supported by the business units IT Outsourcing and IT Solutions. SIS will remain a long-term IT service provider and preferred IT solutions partner for Siemens’ Energy, Industry and Healthcare Sectors and thus continue to profit from the leading industry expertise of Siemens’ businesses.
Siemens is investing around up to €100 million until the end of 2012 to make its factories greener. The company is currently analyzing the environmental performance and energy efficiency of its some 300 most important sites worldwide. The goal is to reduce energy and CO2 emissions by 20 percent by the end of 2011. Siemens is also offering the green test to its suppliers. In the next two years they are to check their companies’ energy and environmental efficiency. “We want to be the first industrial enterprise in the world with an entirely environmentally friendly supply chain,” said Barbara Kux, member of Siemens’ Managing Board and Chief Sustainability Officer. It is estimated that the company’s 1,000 most important suppliers alone could reduce their CO2 emissions by 1.5 million tons a year and their energy costs by around €170 million.
Siemens and its employees have already collected over €1 million in donations for the victims of the flood catastrophe in Pakistan. In order to help the approximately 20 million people affected by the disaster, Siemens will match every euro that its employees donate by September 30, 2010 to a special account established at the Bank für Sozialwirtschaft in Germany. The aid collected will then be transferred to the German Red Cross.
With training programs for 10,000 apprentices and university students, Siemens is one of Germany’s largest private educational institutions. This fall 2,300 school graduates will begin training at 40 different Siemens locations. Once again, all training positions at the company have been filled. “Qualified young people are our most important asset for the future. That’s why we’ve made the fostering of young talent a top priority. We’d be very pleased if even more young women would apply. They have long since proven that they can pursue a successful technical profession,” said Günther Hohlweg, head of Siemens’ training programs. For the third year in a row, the company has provided 250 training positions nationwide for disadvantaged young people. At 28, the number of trainees with severe handicaps is higher than ever.
The Siemens Festival Night wants to win youngsters for tomorrow’s opera public with its program on August 21, 2010 in Bayreuth. To attract the young, the public viewing event at the Volksfestplatz will first feature a children’s program. Prior to the live broadcast of The Valkyrie from the Festspielhaus at 4:00 p.m. for adults, the day will start off with the screening of the Wagner Festival premiere of Tannhäuser for Children. Following this playful version of the opera, budding young opera fans will enjoy a special series of activities related to what they have just seen. Drama instructor Ursula Gessat, working with the Siemens Stiftung, developed the Wagner experience concept and transformed it, with a team of helpers, into an imaginative program for children.
Siemens is helping victims of the catastrophic floods in Pakistan and is appealing for donations to aid people in the affected region. The company has pledged to match every euro that charitable Siemens employees donate by September 30, 2010 to a special account established at the Bank für Sozialwirtschaft in Germany. The aid collected in Germany will then be transferred to the German Red Cross (DRK). In addition, Siemens is also making €100,000 available for the use of mobile healthcare centers.