Siemens reports 40% net profit rise, issues cautious outlook

PanARMENIAN.Net - Industrial equipment maker Siemens AG said net profit rose 40 percent in the fourth quarter but issued a cautious outlook for the coming year, saying global tensions would affect its business and predicting flat revenue, the Associated Press reports.

Siemens also said Thursday, Nov 6, it was selling its hearing-aid business to the investment company EQT and Germany's Struengmann family of entrepreneurs for 2.15 billion euros.

Net income for the quarter, the company's fiscal fourth, rose to 1.498 billion euros ($1.872 billion) from 1.068 euros in the same quarter a year ago. Revenue was flat at 20.559 billion euros. Sales and profit figures beat estimates compiled by financial information provider FactSet.

Profits were dented by the company's energy division, where it took 223 million euros in charges for troubles with wind turbines which needed to have main bearings replaced and suffered blade damage from rough weather.

The Munich-based maker of heavy equipment including trains, medical imaging machines and power turbines said that the business environment would be "complex" in 2015, among other things due to geopolitical tensions. Siemens is active all over the word including the Middle East and Russia, where trade has been put under pressure by sanctions imposed by Western governments over Russia's conflict with Ukraine.

The company said that gains from selling businesses would enable the company to increase earnings per share by at least 15 percent in the coming year.

Siemens had originally planned a share offering for its hearing aid-business but said it found the offer from EQT and the Struengmann family "very attractive." The deal must still pass regulatory approval.