MUNICH, Nov 11 – The German industrial group Siemens reported on Thursday a 63-percent surge in net profit in its 2010 fiscal year and forecast a sharp rise in operating earnings in 2011.
The company, which builds trains and power plants, said in a statement it would pay a dividend of 2.70 euros, easily beating analyst projections of 1.85 euros, and forecast a 25 to 35-percent rise in operating profit in its core businesses for 2011.
Siemens attributed the profit gain in the year to September 30 to its renewable energy unit and to its operations in emerging market countries, which now account for a third of its sales.
Between now and 2014, it added, its renewable energy business is expected to be worth 40 billion euros in annual sales against 28 billion at present.
Net earnings in fiscal 2010 came to 4.068 billion euros (5.612 billion dollars) despite a 1.0 percent dip in sales to 75.788 billion euros.
The company on Wednesday said it would share the fruits of its 2010 performance with its 400,000 employees worldwide, who will receive bonuses totalling 310 million euros.
