New Orders grow by over 4% and Profit from Operations by over 270 bps to 6.1% of Revenue
For the first quarter of Financial Year 2015 ended December 31, 2014, Siemens Ltd. registered higher New Orders of Rs. 2,089.3 crore compared to Rs. 2,008.7 crore in the same period last year. Sales were lower at Rs. 2,140.8 crore in Q1 2015, compared to Rs. 2,360.5 crore in Q1 2014. Profit Before Tax rose in Q1 2015 to Rs. 865.6 crore compared to Rs. 98.5 crore in Q1 2014, largely due to cost optimization measures and an exceptional gain of Rs. 704.6 crore from the sale of the of Metals Technologies business. Excluding this special impact, the Profit from Operations of the Company, as a percentage of revenue, increased from 3.4% in Q1 2014 to 6.1% in Q1 2015.
During the quarter, Siemens Rail Automation Pvt. Ltd. (SRAPL) became a subsidiary of the Company with effect from October 1, 2014.
Sunil Mathur, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Siemens Ltd., said, “The improved profitability reflects the positive impact of various internal productivity measures undertaken to increase the company’s competitiveness. Though the improvement in New Orders is encouraging, our order inflows are greatly dependent on Private Sector & Government’s willingness to start Capex spending once again which is largely dependent on their confidence on a sustained economic revival in the country and lower interest rates. We will continue focusing our efforts to strengthen our core competencies and to increase our customer focus, so as to be well-positioned to capitalize on the new opportunities.”