Siemens beats industrial earnings forecast in CEO Joe Kaeser’s swansong

ZURICH (Reuters) – German engineering group Siemens on Thursday reported better-than-expected profit at its industrial business in the final set of results overseen by long-standing Chief Executive Joe Kaeser.

The trains to factory software-maker reported adjusted earnings before interest, tax and amortisation (EBITA) of 2.64 billion euros ($3.11 billion) for the three months to the end of September, beating analyst forecasts for 1.98 billion euros in a company-gathered poll.

Group revenue of 15.31 billion euros missed forecasts for 15.50 billion euros, although orders of 15.56 billion euros were better than expected. Both figures were lower than a year earlier as demand was hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

Kaeser described the performance as a “strong finish to a remarkable year,” while in its outlook Siemens said it expected a moderate increase in net income in 2021 from the 4.2 billion euros posted in 2020 as the world economy recovers.

($1 = 0.8498 euros)

(Reporting by John Revill; Editing by Michelle Adair)