Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Siemens Sees Strong Profitability, Decides to Open a Bank (SI)

Premarket the stock is trading down $1.85 at $91.38.*
That headline was a juxtaposition. First up, Bloomberg:
Siemens AG, Europe’s largest engineering company, predicted “continued strong profitability” in its third quarter as demand rebounds for factory automation gear, health-care products and light bulbs.
Profit at Siemens’s energy, health-care and industry divisions will approach the 2.1 billion euros ($2.57 billion) the Munich-based company reported in its fiscal second quarter, Chief Financial Officer Joe Kaeser said in a statement today. New orders and sales in the third quarter will exceed the corresponding prior-year figures, Siemens said.
The Munich-based maker of power plants, trains and medical scanners raised its outlook for full-year earnings on April 29, and Siemens said today orders and sales rebounded simultaneously for the first time in almost two years as customers restock goods. Siemens relied on emerging markets and a recovery in its short-cycle business to spur growth, Kaeser said....MORE
A couple days ago Deutsch Welle reported:
Siemens becomes the bank it always was 
German technology conglomerate Siemens hopes to be granted a banking license so it can expand its portfolio of financial services and exercise greater control over its multi-billion euro investments.
German electrical engineering giant Siemens said Monday it was confident the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) would approve its application for a license to conduct banking business.
The application was prompted in part by the global crisis in the banking sector and in part by a need for greater flexibility in providing financial services to big customers, according to Siemens chief financial officer Joe Kaeser.
Safe investments
"In the current situation, with a legislative environment that is not totally transparent, we can be affected if banks have problems," Kaeser said in an interview with the German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung.
"Our liquidity now amounts to about 9 billion euros, which means we really need to be able to make safe investments. We can do this ourselves....MORE
Large piles of euro banknotes 
  Siemens has liquid assets worth some 9 billion euros

The Dow Jones headline is
Siemens Renewable Division Order Backlog More Than EUR8 Bln

*On Thursday we posted:
Siemens: Bernstein Downgrades; Sees Good News Priced In (SI)