Siemens confirms 2015 outlook, first quarter in line with expectations

FRANKFURT: German engineering giant Siemens said Tuesday it is sticking to it full-year outlook after business in the first quarter was in line with expectations.

"The performance of most of our businesses was within our expectations," said chief executive Joe Kaeser.

"While some divisions provided excellent performance, healthcare needs to step up its efforts to quickly resume to its outstanding performance and power and gas will need a more comprehensive concept to return to historical margins longer turn," Kaeser said.

Siemens, which runs its business from October to September, said that net profit fell by 25 per cent to 1.095 billion euros ($1.2 billion) in the first three months.

New orders dropped by 13 per cent to 18.013 billion euros, while sales grew by 3.0 per cent to 17.415 billion euros.

Looking ahead to the full year, "we confirm our outlook," CEO Kaeser said.

"We believe that our business environment will be complex in fiscal 2015, among other things due to geopolitical tensions."

Sales were projected to remain flat and orders would exceed revenue, he said.

In terms of profit, the group was pencilling in a 15-per cent increase in net profit per share, thanks to gains from divestments, Kaeser added.