Siemens plans to significantly boost its commitment to Africa by making an additional investment of roughly €200 million in the next two years to expand its business and its sales structures on the continent. “Africa offers Siemens vast opportunities for growth. As a green infrastructure pioneer, we’re a natural partner for mastering the continent’s major challenges. Renewable energies, in particular, have a huge potential in Africa,” said Siemens President and CEO Peter Löscher at celebrations marking Siemens’ 150th anniversary in South Africa.
The Siemens Festival Night in Bayreuth – a public viewing event scheduled for August 21, 2010 – will feature not only a live transmission from the Festspielhaus to the Volksfestplatz but also for the first time the screening of a new opera film for children. In the morning, a film version of Tannhäuser and the Singers' Contest at Wartburg that has been specially adapted for youngsters will be shown. In the late afternoon and evening, the opera The Valkyrie will be relayed live from the Festspielhaus for all to enjoy. As in past years, the opera will also be broadcast live on the Internet.
In the third quarter of the current fiscal year, Siemens AG expects continued strong profitability at its Sectors with growth in new orders and revenue again exceeding the corresponding prior-year figures. The last time Siemens posted a plus in both orders and revenue was in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008. Driving this positive development in the third quarter of 2010 were, among other things, a recovery in the company’s short-cycle businesses and strong demand in the emerging countries, explained CFO Joe Kaeser at the Energy Sector’s Capital Market Days. He added that, due to continuing cost productivity in the third quarter, total Sectors profit was likely to closely approach the results from operations in the strong previous quarter while including no significant one-time effects. In the second quarter of the current fiscal year, Siemens reported total Sectors profit of some €2.1 billion. However, all third quarter projections reflect substantial currency translation effects due to the strength of the U.S. dollar during the quarter.
Siemens is strengthening its compliance organization by focusing on operations-related tasks. As the new Chief Compliance Officer, Josef Winter, who is currently head of Siemens’ activities in Germany, will manage operations-related, sales-related topics. In the newly created position of Chief Counsel Compliance, Klaus Moosmayer, the current Compliance Operating Officer, will be responsible for all legal aspects of compliance. Starting on July 1, 2010, both men will report directly to Siemens Managing Board member Peter Y. Solmssen. “The new setup will enable us not only to maintain our high compliance standards but also to better leverage them in order to increase the competitiveness of our business operations,” said Solmssen. Theo Waigel, the Monitor for Siemens appointed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, expressly endorsed the reorganization.
Today, Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Management Committee of Gazprom JSC, and Peter Loescher, President and CEO Siemens AG have signed a Memorandum of Understanding during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. The parties intend to cooperate in the area of liquefied natural gas (LNG) technology development and will carry out a number of joint development programs.
After a nearly ten-year development phase, Siemens has entered the market with its new generation of extremely energy-efficient gas turbines, the so-called H-Class. A leading U.S. utility is the first commercial customer. Starting in 2013, no fewer than six of the “world-record turbines,” which will cut fossil fuel consumption in combined-cycle power plants by a third, will be in operation in the Sunshine State of Florida. By upgrading its power plants, the customer Florida Power & Light will achieve net savings of nearly $1 billion over the turbines’ entire lifecycle. “The H-Class is a masterpiece of engineering and a model of energy efficiency. We’re the first to the market. With this top-class Siemens product, we’re now helping U.S. electric companies achieve the energy transformation being driven by President Barack Obama. We’ll now be moving into other regional markets,” said Siemens President and CEO Peter Löscher.
Siemens AG is to partially redesign its headquarter buildings in Munich, Germany. The aim is to set international standards for energy efficiency. “The project will give Siemens and the city of Munich a new green showpiece and a symbol of sustainable urban development,” said Siemens President and CEO Peter Löscher. An architectural design competition is to start in early 2011. Construction is scheduled to begin at the end of 2012 and be completed in 2015.
Siemens officially opened the new headquarters of its Austrian subsidiary at a gala event in Vienna on Friday. The company has invested around €150 million in the new home for its 6,000 local employees. The new buildings feature an extremely ecofriendly design coupled with advanced green building technology. “Siemens City highlights our strong commitment to the Vienna location and to Austria,” said Siemens President and CEO Peter Löscher.