German engineering giant Siemens said its bottom-line earnings fell in the second quarter of its business year, primarily because the year-earlier figures had been boosted by windfall gains from divestments.
However, underlying profits improved slightly, with most of the group's divisions putting in a solid performance, the company said.
The company employs 800 people in Ireland, including 200 in Cork.
Siemens, which runs its business year from October to September, said it booked net profit of €781m in the period from January to March, down from €1.21 billion a year earlier.
However, the year-earlier figure had been boosted by one-off gains from the sale of Siemens' stake in semi-conductors maker Infineon. Adjusted for those gains, second-quarter net profit was down by just 3.2% on a 12-month basis, Siemens said.
Underlying earnings, as measured by operating profit, improved slightly, edging up 2% to €1.098 billion in the January-March period on a 4% rise in sales to €18.563 billion. New orders were up 5% at €20.674 billion.
'Most of our divisions put in a good performance in the second quarter, especially considering the modest economic growth in European markets,' chairman Klaus Kleinfeld said. 'These divisions showed solid progress which should continue through the rest of the year,' he added.
Nevertheless, Siemens appeared to be more cautious about its full-year earnings targets this year, saying that additional restructuring measures in its telecommunications activities would lead to 'further charges, which we can't yet specify as to the amount or timing.'
Previously, Siemens had been targeting a 'slight' increase in earnings. 'But it's now difficult to assess,' Kleinfeld said.
