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Strong first-quarter results announced by Siemens on Wednesday put the wind in Roland Busch’s sails as he prepares to take the reins of the German conglomerate.
The company reported a 1.5-billion-euro (1.8-billion-dollar) net profit during the October-December period, up 38 percent compared to a year ago, when the coronavirus pandemic hadn’t yet hit the world economy.
Busch is to formally take over from Joe Kaeser as Siemens chief executive at the company’s annual general meeting later Wednesday.
In light of the profit surge, driven in the last quarter by the strong performance of Siemens’ digital industries, the industrial giant upped its outlook for the fiscal year 2021, with expected earnings of 5-5.5 billion euros.
“I am grateful to be able to hand over such a strong enterprise to the next generation of management,” Kaeser said, commenting on the results.
It will now be up to Busch to fulfill the company’s more ambitious 2021 target.
At 14.07 billion euros, revenue was up by 7 percent in comparable terms in the first quarter, with all industrial businesses contributing to growth, Siemens said.
Orders also surged by 15 percent on a comparable basis, to reach 15.94 billion euros, driven by large orders in its mobility branch.
Despite the strong results, the company said it continues to expect a “complex macroeconomic environment influenced by Covid-19.”
GNA
