The Hindu Business Line : Siemens net jumps 68 pc to Rs 254.8 crore

During the period, its sales turnover jumped by 54 per cent to reach Rs 2,748.50 crore. Its new orders increased by 37 per cent from the year-ago period to Rs 4123.30 crore. The major contributors to the increase in its turnover were automation and drives, power transmission, distribution and medical businesses. The board of directors, which met here on Thursday, has recommended a total dividend of Rs 14.5 (145 per cent) for an equity share of Rs 10 each, including the interim dividend of 45 per cent.

For the last year, the results of Siemens Ltd Group include those of Siemens Ltd, Siemens Information Systems Ltd, Siemens Public Communication Networks Ltd for four months, Siemens BPO Services Pvt Ltd for four months, Pimac Engineering & Services Ltd (now known as Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery Pvt Ltd) and Demag Delaval Industrial Turbomachinery, which has been integrated into Siemens Power Generation Division.

The Siemens Group, a provider of industry and infrastructure solutions, has a business volume in India aggregating Rs 5,400 crore. Talking to newspersons, Mr J. Schubert, Managing Director of Siemens Ltd, said the company would increase its investments in the country. He indicated that this fiscal, the investments could be three and half times that of last year, including investments for expanding its manufacturing capacities and research and development.

Mr Schubert said the company would be looking at new business sectors related to infrastructure. The company is seriously looking at the drinking water purification segment, he said.

On the company's prospects, he said the power generation, power transmission and distribution divisions face encouraging prospects, with the Government targeting to add 61 gigawatts of power in the Eleventh Plan through green-field projects and modernisation of old power plants. Mr Schubert said that to meet the increasing domestic and export requirement of transformers, the company was setting up a transformer factory at a cost of Rs 150 crore, which is expected to go on stream by 2006-end.

Shares of Siemens fell by Rs 15.15 to Rs 2,637.05 on the BSE on Thursday.

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