Siemens confident on 2009 profit

Siemens says it has got off to a good start this year

German industrial giant Siemens says it is on track to meet its profit forecast despite the global economic slowdown.

It is sticking to its target for total profit this year - across its industry, energy and health-care divisions - of up to 8.5bn euros ($11.3bn; �7.9bn).

Its comments came as it reported net profit for the October to December period of 1.23bn euros.

This was down 81% from a year ago, when Siemens' profit was boost by the sale of its VDO Automotive business.

Siemens' first-quarter results were helped by strong sales at its energy division, but profits fell at its industry division as the economic slowdown hit demand.

"Siemens got off to a good start in fiscal 2009, including better order development than most of our competitors in the first quarter," said chief executive Peter Loescher.

"Revenue increased strongly. Total sectors profit clearly exceeded the prior-year level. Therefore we are sticking to our 2009 targets, even though reaching them has become more ambitious."

He added: "While we are closely monitoring market conditions on a quarterly basis, we are progressing through the year strong, confident and focused."

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