German industrial conglomerate Siemens 3Q net profit down 7 percent to euro1.3 billion

August 26th, 2009 Siemens buys majority in 2 Chinese metal companiesFRANKFURT — German industrial conglomerate Siemens AG said Wednesday it bought a majority stake in two small Chinese metal companies, but did not release financial details. Munich-based Siemens said its energy division acquired the majority holding in Yangtze Delta Manufacturing, a metalworking company, and aluminum foundry GIS Steel & Aluminum Products, both of which are headquartered in Hangzhou.

August 13th, 2009 Hutchison Whampoa's first-half earns plunge 33 pctHONG KONG — Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., run by billionaire Li Ka-shing, said Thursday its earnings tumbled 33 percent in the first half as its oil, ports and hotel businesses flagged amid the economic downturn. Net profit for the six months through June fell to 5.76 billion Hong Kong dollars (about $743 million) from HK$8.59 ($1.1 billion), the company said in a statement to the stock exchange.

August 3rd, 2009 Linde 1H net profit down 34 percentFRANKFURT — German industrial gas company Linde AG said Monday that its net profit for the first six months of the year fell 34 percent, citing a difficult market environment and falling business volumes in the recession. The Munich-based company earned euro248 million ($354 million) in the January-June period, compared with euro375 million in the first half of 2008.

July 30th, 2009 Siemens Q3 net profit euro1.3 billion, down 7 percentFRANKFURT — German industrial conglomerate Siemens AG said Thursday that net profit for its fiscal third quarter fell 7 percent as the global recession curbed demand for its products, which range from light bulbs to high-speed trains. The Munich-based company said net profit in the April-June period fell to euro1.3 billion ($1.8 billion) from euro1.4 billion in the year-ago quarter.

July 23rd, 2009 Dutch telecom KPN's Q2 profit up 4.8 pctAMSTERDAM — Royal KPN NV, the largest Dutch telecommunications company, said Thursday its net profit rose 4.8 percent in the second quarter due to growth at its German mobile telephone business and better margins in the Netherlands. Net profit was euro370 million ($526 million), up from euro353 million.

July 17th, 2009 GE 2Q profit falls 49 percent, tops estimatesWASHINGTON — General Electric Co. says its second quarter earnings tumbled 49 percent on the continued woes of its finance unit and ongoing weakness in its big industrial units due to the recession.

July 13th, 2009 Companies promote African solar energy projectMUNICH — A consortium of 12 European businesses outlined an ambitious plan Monday to build a massive solar power facility in North Africa that they said could satisfy 15 percent of Europe's energy needs by 2050. The so-called Desertec project involves, among others, German industrial conglomerate Siemens AG, power companies RWE AG and E.ON AG, reinsurer Munich Re AG, Deutsche Bank AG, and Swiss-based electrical engineering firm ABB.

July 2nd, 2009 Germany's Siemens to pay euro75M to combat corruptionMUNICH — German industrial conglomerate Siemens AG said Thursday it has agreed to pay euro75 million over 15 years to help bolster international anti-corruption efforts and to refrain from bidding for contracts under World Bank-financed projects until 2011. The Munich-based company said it agreed to pay the money — euro5 million ($7 million) annually for 15 years — to the United Nations and Transparency International as part of an agreement with the Washington-based World Bank, calling it part of its "ongoing efforts to address the consequences of the bribery scandal." Siemens, which makes products ranging from wind turbines to trams, has been embroiled in a far-reaching corruption scandal and has acknowledged making dubious payments to secure business.

July 1st, 2009 Former Greek Siemens exec ordered held in GermanyMUNICH — A German court said Wednesday it has ordered that a former head of Siemens AG's Greek branch be kept in custody pending a decision on his possible extradition to face money laundering and bribery charges. Michael Christoforakos, who holds both Greek and German citizenship, was arrested in Bavaria last week on a Greek-issued European warrant.

June 29th, 2009 Siemens names new US operations leaderNEW YORK — Industrial conglomerate Siemens AG said Monday Michael Reitermann will lead the company's U.S. organization.

June 25th, 2009 Greek ex-Siemens executive arrested in GermanyMUNICH — A former senior executive of industrial conglomerate Siemens AG who faces money laundering and bribery charges in Greece was arrested in Germany on Thursday, prosecutors said. Michael Christoforakos, who holds both Greek and German citizenship, was arrested near Rosenheim, southeast of Munich, following a tip-off from the public, Munich prosecutors said in a statement.

June 22nd, 2009 Siemens hopes for $20.9 billion in stimulus ordersFRANKFURT — German industrial conglomerate Siemens AG said Monday that it expects to garner about euro15 billion ($20.9 billion) worldwide in new orders because of more government-backed orders aimed at reducing energy consumption. Siemens said that the efforts by governments, including the U.S., to parcel out stimulus money to jolt economies back to life — much of it earmarked for infrastructure projects emphasizing "green" technology — would lift its order books from 2010 to 2012.

June 13th, 2009 German prosecutors charge ex-Siemens managerMUNICH, Germany — German prosecutors have charged a former top-ranking Siemens AG manager with breach of trust for his alleged role in a widespread corruption scandal at the Munich-based industrial conglomerate, an official said Saturday. Charges had been brought against the ex-head of finance for Siemens' communications branch, Michael Kutschenreuter, said Anton Winkler, a spokesman for Munich prosecutors.

April 28th, 2009 Daimler reports 1Q loss of euro1.3 billionFRANKFURT — German car maker Daimler AG has reported a first quarter loss of nearly euro1.3 billion ($1.7 billion) as the world economic crisis weighs heavily on demand. The euro1.29 billion net loss reported Tuesday by Stuttgart-based Daimler contrasts with a net profit of more than euro1.33 billion in the first quarter of 2008.

January 29th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Construction and engineering giant Larsen and Toubro (L&T) posted a 215.5 percent jump in its quarterly profit, primarily riding on the income from the sale of its ready-mix concrete (RMC) business. The company filed a net profit of Rs.15.2 billion (Rs.1,520.44 crore/$338.75 million) for the third quarter of 2008-09, as against Rs.4.81 billion during the same period last fiscal.