While the gas segment brings profits to Siemens Energy, the group is making losses through its wind power division. The return on sales falls short of expectations, the net loss increases to a total of 647 million euros. The only bright spot is the fourth quarter.
As expected, the Spanish wind power subsidiary Siemens Gamesa and the withdrawal from Russia have once again pulled the energy technology group Siemens Energy deep into the red. The net loss rose to 647 (previous year: minus 560) million euros in the 2021/22 financial year (as of the end of September), as the company announced in Munich. However, it was lower than experts and Siemens Energy itself had predicted. The dividend is said to be "due to the growing losses and the current challenges and those expected in the coming year".
For the year before, Siemens Energy had paid ten cents per share. The operating result (adjusted EBITA before special items) of Siemens Energy fell by 43 percent to 379 million euros, the operating return on sales of 1.3 percent was below the management board's already reduced expectations of two percent. Sales also fell by 2.5 percent to 29.0 billion euros, somewhat more than Siemens Energy had believed in the summer.
The fact that there was still a profit in the fourth quarter of this financial year was mainly due to the fact that the Spanish wind power subsidiary - unlike last time - did not pull the mother down with deep red figures this time. Thanks to the sale of projects in southern Europe, Siemens Gamesa (SGRE) even contributed a profit in the fourth quarter. "In a year full of challenges, our Gas and Power segment has again delivered solid results, while SGRE has not been able to meet expectations," said Siemens Energy CEO Christian Bruch.
In the new fiscal year, Siemens Energy is set to return to a growth course: sales are expected to increase by three to seven percent on a comparable basis, and the operating return on sales should rise to two to four percent. The bottom line is that Siemens Energy expects another loss, but this should be significantly lower than last time. "Of course, inflation, high material costs and supply chain difficulties will not simply go away in the coming year," said CFO Maria Ferraro. "It is all the more important that we do our homework by continuing to save costs and improve our operational performance."
