Siemens India (SIEMENS) Q4 98/99 earnings summary

Executive summary

• FY99 returned to parent-level profit of Rs351m after a Rs560m loss in FY98, following restructuring and cost-reduction measures.

• Orders booked rose 52% to Rs12,740m; turnover increased 5.5% to Rs10,506m for the year ended 30 September 1999.

Financial highlights

• Parent sales and services were Rs10,506m versus Rs9,959m; profit before tax and exceptional items was Rs276m versus a Rs135m loss.

• Parent net profit was Rs351m versus a Rs560m loss; exceptional items included Rs73m net profit on property sales and a Rs32m restructuring-cost write-back.

• Consolidated net profit after minority interest was Rs467m versus a Rs507m loss; consolidated total income was Rs12,827m versus Rs11,898m.

• SISL reported income of Rs1,658m and net profit of Rs239m; turnover grew 23% and export sales accounted for 65% of sales.

Outlook and guidance

• FY2000 was expected to receive a moderate economic boost, particularly in H2, but project-to-market effects were expected to take 6–12 months.

• A demand gap and intensifying competition were expected to sustain price pressure; priorities included cost optimization and operational improvement.

• Government focus on power, telecom, transportation, healthcare and IT was viewed as a source of potential business opportunities.