Siemens quarterly earnings up 9 percent

A strong increase in orders in a recovering economy helped push earnings at Siemens AG 9 percent higher in the most recent quarter, the industrial conglomerate said Thursday.

Siemens, based in Munich, reported net profit of nearly euro1.44 billion ($1.9 billion) for the April-June period, the company's fiscal third quarter, up from euro1.32 billion a year earlier.

Siemens makes everything from light bulbs to trams and turbines for power stations.

Orders were up 22 percent at euro20.87 billion from last year's euro17.16 billion. The company said its order backlog now stands at euro89 billion.

"Siemens gained further momentum in the third quarter," CEO Peter Loescher said in a statement. "Such order growth last occurred in 2008. Strong demand took our order backlog to a record level."

Revenue climbed 4 percent to euro19.17 billion. Siemens said revenue was up 7 percent at its industry division, 10 percent at its health care business and only slightly at the energy business.

Orders were up 33 percent at the industry division, and rose 18 percent at both the health care in energy businesses - in the latter case, helped by major orders in the areas of power transmission, renewable energy, and oil and gas, Siemens said. It didn't elaborate.

Overall orders in the Americas saw the sharpest rise, increasing 47 percent to euro6.35 billion in part thanks to energy-sector contracts, Siemens said.

The company's operating profit came in at euro2.33 billion, up from euro1.67 billion a year earlier.

Loescher said the full-year result "will clearly exceed the level of the prior year." Last year's full-year figure was euro7.47 billion.

The company also said Thursday that it will sell its Siemens Electronics Assembly Systems unit to ASM Pacific Technology of Hong Kong.

Siemens didn't give a value for the sale of the unit, which has about 1,200 employees worldwide. The deal is subject to approval by antitrust authorities and ASM's shareholders.

The unit supplies assembly systems for the electronics industry. "Due to the lack of internal synergies, SEAS is no longer a core business of Siemens," the parent company said.

Siemens shares were up 1.1 percent in early Frankfurt trading at euro77.01.