Siemens must profit between 4.5 billion and 5 billion this year

The German group Siemens took a more pessimistic for the remainder of the year on a weak industry demand.
The company, which manufactures a wide range of products with applications in high-speed trains to power turbines and medical devices, it is highly exposed to the global industrial sector and demand has been hit by the fall in investments.
Surveys published last month already indicated concerns about loss of strength of the world economy, as the plant growth in China slows down, reflecting the weak demand in the u.s. and European recession. The group said yesterday that it now expects net profit of continuing operations to be in the lower end of its forecast of between 4.5 billion and ¤ ¤ 5 billion this year.
Analysts, on average, predict a profit of the group in the fiscal year to September falling to 4.84 billion ante ¤ ¤ 5.18 billion in the previous year, partly because of an impact of ¤ 1 billion generated by cost-cutting program.
The Group's Chief Executive, Peter Löscher, has been criticized for being too slow in reaction to the global crisis and is now trying to put the company back on course to compete with rivals such as General Electric.
In the second fiscal quarter until March, Siemens saw its profit shrink of 9.9% to 7.5%, with reduced demand for industrial automation equipment and other technology products. Quarterly revenue fell 7%, more than expected and the net profit stagnated.
And despite the falls, orders of Siemens, an indicator of future sales, returned to grow after six consecutive quarterly declines. Requests have jumped 20% to ¤ 21.45 billion, surpassing expectations of ¤18,92 billion.