Siemens AG reiterated and expanded on its results for the year to September 30 yesterday, saying that Siemens Nixdorf Informationssysteme AG will show an operating profit this fiscal year, but still show a small net loss due to restructuring costs; it hopes to break even at the net level next fiscal year. A further 4,300 jobs are to go at the unit this year.For the company as a whole, Siemens took a massive $1,740m restructuring charge, up from $1,225m last year. The company is projecting a 20% jump in net profit before extraordinaries in the current year, to $1,270m. Chairman Heinrich von Pierer said the company would continue personnel cuts, but that the pace of job reductions would slow. Siemens reiterated that group net profit was $1,270m, after an extraordinary gain of $218.8m on the sale of its US pacemaker business. The company will cut its workforce to below 370,000 by the end of the fiscal from 382,000 on September 30; 21,000 went last year. The highest profit margins – with over 5% of sales – were in communications, semiconductors and lighting; only computers let the side down with a loss. Semiconductors saw a $193m operating profit on sales up 23% at $3,700m; orders were $4,258m.
