Siemens to pay 55% final dividend

Our Corporate Bureau
26 November 2002

The board of directors announced a final dividend resulting in a total dividend of Rs 5.5 (55 per cent) for an equity share of Rs 10 each, including the interim dividend of 30 per cent. Siemens AG currently holds 54.63 per cent stake in Siemens Ltd., while the balance is held by nearly 47,000 shareholders.

The company''s profit after tax stood at Rs 86.5 crore, registering a rise of 26 per cent over Rs 68.7 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.

The sales turnover increased by 12 per cent from Rs 1,157 crore to Rs 1,290 crore and new orders improved 7 per cent to Rs 1,155 crore, compared to Rs 1,084 crore in the previous fiscal year.

A company press release said this sales growth was achieved in the backdrop of the depressed market conditions and severe price erosion. The highest growth came from the power transmission and distribution division as major projects arising from the prior year’s order backlog were successfully executed in the previous year.

Addressing a press conference, J Schubert, managing director, Siemens Ltd said, “In a sluggish external environment, we have now been able to achieve our planned targets and post profits in all our businesses. Our unflinching policy of taking only profitable orders has yielded positive results. The consistency in our performance reflects the combined effect of successful market penetration, backed by innovative offerings; and effective resource management with a focus on process optimisation across the entire customer-to-customer value chain.”

The company is a conglomerate with interests in power, automation, healthcare, industrial solutions, transport, information, communication and real estate