Siemens announces Q1 results: Net profit up by 68%  

Sales Turnover stood at Rs. 16,289 million (Rs. 1,629 crores), a decline of 15%. For the same period, Net Profit increased by 68% to Rs. 3,306 million (Rs 331 crores) and operating profit rose by 9% to Rs. 1,521 million (Rs. 152 crores) over the comparable first quarter in 2007-08.

For the first quarter ended December 31, 2008, Sales Turnover stood at Rs. 16,289 million (Rs. 1,629 crores), a decline of 15% as compared to Rs. 19,144 million (Rs. 1,914 crores) for the corresponding period in the previous year. This was mainly due to the successful completion of a large export order in the Transmission segment, which is not reflected in the current year’s first quarter performance. Therefore, on a comparable basis, Total Sales rose by 5%. The Industry sector which presently contributes to over 57% of the sales revenues grew by a healthy 15% over the comparable period in the last fiscal.  

 Despite the adverse market conditions, the New Orders intake increased by 4% and stood at Rs. 19,797 million (Rs. 1,979 crores) as compared to Rs. 19,120 million (Rs. 1,912 crores) in the corresponding period of the previous year. In the first quarter, the Company maintained a robust Book to Bill ratio, which is a healthy indicator of the revenue pipeline.

The Profit Before Tax for the quarter ended December 31, 2008, increased by 40% and stood at Rs. 3,919 million (Rs. 392 crores) as against Rs. 2,789 million (Rs. 279 crores) recorded during the corresponding period in the previous year. The Profits before tax for the first quarter includes dividend of Rs. 2,113 million (Rs. 211 crores) received from Siemens Information System Ltd. (SISL) and Rs. 117 million (Rs. 12 crores) from Siemens Information Processing Systems Private Ltd. (SIPS). Without considering the effects of dividend received from the subsidiaries, the Profit from Operations rose by a healthy 9%. The additional measures taken by the Company proactively towards process improvement and cost optimization supported the result.  

The Profit after Tax rose by 68% to Rs. 3,306 million (Rs. 331 crores) over Rs. 1,971 million (Rs 197 crores) in the same period of the previous year.

The Company’s Unexecuted Order Value position as of December 31, 2008 was                Rs.102,586 million  (Rs. 10,258 crore). (Last fiscal: Rs. 93,686 million (Rs. 9,369 crores).   As of December 31, 2008, Siemens Ltd. had 6584 Employees (As of December 31, 2007: 6,000).

 Commenting on the first quarter performance, Dr. Armin Bruck, Managing Director, Siemens Ltd. said, “Even in the challenging market environment, our new orders have seen a steady growth and our profit from operations have risen satisfactorily. We are happy with the progress of the Qatar projects where we have successfully completed one of the Phases during the last fiscal. This naturally is reflected in the lowering of the revenues in the first quarter of the current year.”

 He further added, “We are closely monitoring and evaluating economic & market developments on a continuous basis and are hopeful that the global economic situation will recover on a medium-term. Despite the slowing down, India’s growth story is still attractive as much needs to be yet done to improve the infrastructure. We have geared ourselves to sail through the challenging times, by taking early measures to streamline our processes and optimize our resources. With a definitive strategy based on a solid financial standing, we are determined to achieve our growth targets.”

 Siemens Ltd is the flagship listed company in India. Siemens in India, which comprises 22 legal entities, is a leading provider of industry and infrastructure solutions with a business volume aggregating about Rs 11,800 crore. It operates in the core business areas of Industry, Energy and Healthcare. It has nation-wide Sales and Service network, 18 manufacturing plants, a network of around 500 channel partners and employs about 17,000 people.