Siemens sold 12.8m mobile phones, 4.8m more than the same period last year

It said net profits rose to 1.2bn euros($1.43bn; �0.8bn) up from 568m euros ($677m; �377.7m) a year earlier.

Meanwhile sales of its mobile phone handsets rose 48% compared to the same period last year.

Siemens' handset sales have been building global market share as new mobile phone models have been popular.

Its mobile phone business ranks in the world's top four, but in the past few years it had been struggling with price cuts and competition from Asian manufacturers.

The rise in mobile phone sales is particularly significant as Siemens has acknowledged in the past that it has lacked attractive new handsets in comparison to rivals Motorola, Samsung and Nokia.

Siemens' market share in mobile telephony is now around 10%, said chief financial Officer Heinz-Joachim Neubuerger.

Growth plans

The acquisition trail is also on the Siemens agenda.

Leading mobile market share Nokia 33-35% (analyst estimate) Motorola 14% Samsung 14% Siemens 10% Sony Ericsson 7%

It announced it is to acquire Trench Electric Holding, the Dutch energy form, for 285m euros in order to strengthen its market position in the global energy transmission market.

Mr Neubuerger said Siemens was still on the lookout, but gave no details.

Reports in the French newspaper La Tribune that Siemens could be invited by the French government to invest in rival Altsom have been denied by Siemens chief executive, Heinrich von Pierer.

"It's news to me," he said in an interview with CNBC business TV.

"It's a French decision, we're not pushing, we're waiting", he said.