German electronics giant Siemens has announced its results for the fiscal year ending 30 September. Income is up, but chief executive Heinrich von Pierer has warned that a difficult year lies ahead for the company.
In the information and communications technology (ICT) sector, Siemens had a mixed year, but the star of the show was its mobile phones division, which is now back in the black and increasing handset sales.
The company’s net income for the fiscal year increased by 24pc to €2.597bn from €2.088bn in 2001. EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) from operations rose to €2.474bn from €1.329bn a year ago. However, sales decreased 3pc to €84.016bn and orders decreased 7pc to €86.214bn. Excluding currency effects and the net effect of acquisitions and dispositions, sales remained level and orders decreased 5pc. Fourth-quarter net income was €53m and EBIT from operations was €176m. Siemens management has proposed a dividend of €1 per share.same as the previous year’s dividend per share.
In the information and communications business area, conditions in the telecommunications market had the harshest effect on Siemens Information and Communication Networks (ICN), which had EBIT negative of €691m, compared to a negative €861m in the previous year.
Information and Communication Mobile (ICM) was back in the black in the fiscal year 2002, posting EBIT of €96m compared to a €307m loss in the previous year.
The mobile phones division was primarily responsible for this turnaround, posting EBIT of a positive €82m compared to a negative €540m last year, which included significant charges for asset write-downs. The division sold 33.3 million units in the current year, compared to 28.7 million a year earlier. The Cordless Products division also made a significant contribution to Siemens ICM’s earnings for the year.
By Dick O’Brien
