Siemens (NYSE:SI) shares are up after the German conglomerate reported stronger-than-expected fiscal 4th-quarter earnings and announced a share repurchasing program worth some $5.4 billion, despite lower profits from its healthcare division.
Munich-based Siemens posted profits of €1.07 billion (~$1.44 billion), or €1.18 (~$1.59) per share, on sales of €21.17 billion (~$28.48 billion) for the 3 months ended Sept. 30, representing a bottom-line slide of 10.3% on a sales decline of 1.3%. Full-year profits were €4.41 billion (~$5.93 billion), or €5.03 (~$6.77) per share, on sales of €75.88 billion (~$102.08 billion), for profit growth of 3.0% on a 2.0% sales slide.
But Siemens managed to beat Wall Street’s expectations for income from continuing operations despite a 13% slide to €1.08 billion (~$1.45 billion); analysts were looking for €997 million (~$1.34 billion).
"With a solid fourth quarter, we completed an eventful year in fiscal 2013. Now we’re looking ahead and concentrating on measures aimed at improving our profitability, which we are implementing rigorously and prudently. With realignment of the regions, we’ve made the first strategic moves," said Joe Kaeser, who took over as president & CEO from Peter Löscher in August.
Siemens Healthcare logged Q4 profits of €601 million (~$808.5 million), down 4.8% from the same period last year on a 1.6% decline in revenues, which slid to €3.72 billion (~$5.01 billion) for the quarter.
Siemens also said it plans to buy back up to €4 billion (~$5.38 billion) worth of its own stock as it looks to boost its share price. SI shares were trading at $128.05 apiece today as of about 10:30 a.m., down 0.1% on the day but up 1.9% since the Nov. 7 earnings release.