Promising First Quarter at Siemens Creates Positive Momentum

Siemens posted strong first-quarter performance for the period ending 31 December 2024, providing a successful start to fiscal year 2025 and creating positive momentum for further growth.

Revenue at German conglomerate Siemens climbed to EUR 18.4 billion, representing a 3 percent increase compared to the same period of the prior year (Q1 2024: EUR 17.7 billion). Free cash flow at the group level showed significant improvement, reaching EUR 1.6 billion as of the end of the first quarter ending 31 December 2024. Order intake in the first quarter of 2025 declined 8 percent to EUR 20.1 billion compared to the same period of the prior year (Q1 2024: EUR 21.6 billion), while profit in the Industrial business segment was recorded at EUR 2.5 billion (Q1 2024: EUR 2.7 billion). The Industrial business profit margin came in at 14.1 percent (Q1 2024: 15.8 percent). Free cash flow at the group level showed significant improvement, climbing to EUR 1.6 billion (Q1 2024: EUR 1 billion).

Net profit at Siemens surged 52 percent to EUR 3.9 billion, bolstered by an after-tax gain of EUR 2.1 billion from the sale of Innomotics. This figure had stood at EUR 2.5 billion in the first quarter of 2024.

Expectations regarding the outlook for fiscal year 2025 have thus become clearer. At the virtual Annual Shareholders' Meeting, shareholders will vote on a proposal to distribute a dividend of EUR 5.20 per share for fiscal year 2024 (fiscal year 2023: EUR 4.70).

Roland Busch, President and Chief Executive Officer of Siemens AG, stated: "We have made a promising start to fiscal year 2025, building clear momentum to continue creating value for our stakeholders. Our technologies enable our customers to merge their physical and digital worlds, thereby increasing their competitiveness, resilience and sustainability. We see strong interest in creating real-world impact with our leadership in industrial artificial intelligence."

Ralf P. Thomas, Chief Financial Officer of Siemens AG, said: "With EUR 1.6 billion in free cash flow, we significantly exceeded prior-year performance and have established an excellent foundation for a successful fiscal year 2025. The EUR 3.1 billion in proceeds from the sale of Innomotics further strengthened our financial position. We will continue to focus on operational excellence to create long-term value for our shareholders. Our expectations regarding fiscal year 2025 have become clearer."

Strong net profit and free cash flow
Siemens increased revenue in the first quarter of 2025 by 3 percent to EUR 18.4 billion compared to the same period of the prior year (Q1 2024: EUR 17.7 billion). Total order intake came in at EUR 20.1 billion (Q1 2024: EUR 21.6 billion), representing an 8 percent decline compared to the same period of the prior year. The order-to-sales ratio, coming in at 1.09, remained solid. Backlog orders as of the end of the first quarter of 2025 reached a record EUR 118 billion.

Industrial business segment profit declined 8 percent to EUR 2.5 billion (Q1 2024: EUR 2.7 billion). The Industrial business profit margin stood at 14.1 percent (Q1 2024: 15.8 percent).

Net profit surged 52 percent to EUR 3.9 billion (Q1 2024: EUR 2.5 billion), bolstered by an after-tax gain of EUR 2.1 billion from the sale of Innomotics. Basic earnings per share before purchase price allocation accounting (EPS pre-PPA) increased 52 percent to EUR 4.86 compared to the same quarter of the prior year (Q1 2024: EUR 3.19). Excluding the EUR 2.64 per share gain from the Innomotics sale, EPS pre-PPA came in at EUR 2.22.

Free cash flow from continuing and discontinued operations at the group level reached an excellent level, improving significantly to EUR 1.6 billion compared to the same period of the prior year (Q1 2024: EUR 1 billion). The basis for this increase was formed by Industrial business segment free cash flow climbing to EUR 1.7 billion (Q1 2024: EUR 1.3 billion).

Orders increase in Digital Industries and Smart Infrastructure business segments
In the Digital Industries business segment, order intake reached EUR 4.2 billion, up 6 percent from the same period of the prior year (Q1 2024: EUR 4 billion), driven by significant increases in both the software and automation business segments. On a geographic basis, orders increased across all reporting regions, with the Americas region leading order growth. Revenue declined 11 percent to EUR 4.1 billion compared to the same period of the prior year (Q1 2024: EUR 4.6 billion). Revenue growth in the software business segment was offset by significant revenue decline in the automation business segment. The order-to-sales ratio in the Digital Industries business segment came in above 1 for the first time in two years. Profit declined to EUR 588 million (Q1 2024: EUR 895 million), reflecting the impact of the automation business segment, which continues to be affected by lower capacity utilization and additionally recorded higher severance costs. As a result, the profit margin came in at 14.5 percent (Q1 2024: 19.6 percent).

In the Smart Infrastructure business segment, order intake reached a record EUR 6.2 billion, up 5 percent from the same period of the prior year (Q1 2024: EUR 5.8 billion). All business segments contributed to this growth, with the highest growth contribution coming from the electrification business segment, which won a series of major contracts from data center customers as well as from energy and industrial sector customers. Revenue climbed to a total of EUR 5.3 billion across all business segments (Q1 2024: EUR 4.8 billion), led by the electrification and electrical products business segments, which are intensively processing large backlog orders from data center and energy sector customers. The increase in both orders and revenue was geographically driven by the United States and Europe. Profit of EUR 891 million surpassed the strong performance of the same quarter of the prior year (Q1 2024: EUR 885 million), benefiting from a positive effect of EUR 94 million related to historical portfolio activities. The main drivers of this strong profit growth are increased revenue and capacity as well as ongoing productivity improvement initiatives.

In the Mobility business segment, revenue increased 10 percent to EUR 3 billion compared to the same period of the prior year (Q1 2024: EUR 2.7 billion). Higher revenue was recorded across all business segments, led by the customer services and rail systems business segments. Order intake declined to EUR 2.7 billion (Q1 2024: EUR 5.6 billion), which included a EUR 0.5 billion order for railway infrastructure and maintenance in the United Kingdom and a EUR 0.3 billion order under an existing framework agreement for train deliveries in Austria. The first quarter of 2024 had seen sharp volume growth from major-volume orders. Profit of EUR 249 million remained nearly at the same level as the same quarter of the prior year (Q1 2024: EUR 251 million). The profit increase in the customer services business segment was largely offset by the decline in the rail systems business segment. The decline in rail systems was primarily attributable to unfavorable portfolio mix. The profit margin declined to 8.4 percent (Q1 2024: 9.3 percent).

Virtual Annual Shareholders' Meeting to vote on dividend proposal
The regular Annual Shareholders' Meeting of Siemens AG will be held in a virtual format immediately following the announcement of the company's first-quarter results. Shareholders will vote on a proposal by the Board of Management and Supervisory Board to distribute a dividend of EUR 5.20 per share for fiscal year 2024. This dividend, which is EUR 0.50 higher than the fiscal year 2023 dividend, exemplifies Siemens' policy of gradually increasing dividend distributions.
 
 Ralf P. Thomas, Chief Financial Officer of Siemens AG, said: "With EUR 1.6 billion in free cash flow, we significantly exceeded prior-year performance and have established an excellent foundation for a successful fiscal year 2025. The EUR 3.1 billion in proceeds from the sale of Innomotics further strengthened our financial position. We will continue to focus on operational excellence to create long-term value for our shareholders. Our expectations regarding fiscal year 2025 have become clearer."