Siemens Energy’s business development in the first quarter of the fiscal year was supported by continued favourable energy market trends. Orders increased year-over-year by 23.9% on a comparable basis (excluding currency translation and portfolio effects) to €15.4 billion.
The book-to-bill ratio (ratio of orders to revenue) was slightly above 2, driving the order backlog to a new high of €118 billion. Revenue came in at €7.6 billion, reflecting a 12.6% increase on a comparable basis. While all segments contributed to growth, the increase was particularly strong in Grid Technologies. Due to special items, Siemens Energy showed a net income of €1,582 million (Q1 FY 2023: net loss €598 million). Corresponding basic earnings per share (EPS) were positive €1.79 (Q1 FY 2023: negative €0.60). Free cash flow pre-tax was negative at €283 million (Q1 FY 2023: negative €58 million). The decrease was primarily due to Siemens Gamesa, which suffered a high cash outflow due to a loss and a build-up of operating net working capital in a seasonally weak quarter. Related to the sale of the stake in Siemens Limited, India, Siemens Energy recorded a cash inflow of nearly €2.1 billion, which is not reflected in free cash flow pre-tax but contributes to Adjusted Net cash.
Siemens Gamesa’s orders were slightly above the prior year quarter’s level on a comparable basis as offshore and service businesses reported increases, respectively, while onshore orders more than halved, largely due to a temporary interruption of sales activities for the 4.X and 5.X onshore turbines. Growth in the reporting regions Asia, Australia, and EMEA offset a sharp decline in the Americas. The book-to-bill ratio came in at 0.77. The order backlog decreased to €41 billion. Revenue (2,043 million) grew moderately based on increased service revenue, which more than offset a decline in the onshore and offshore businesses. Profit (minus 434 milion) before special items was negative but improved compared to the prior year’s quarter, which included charges of €472 million related to quality issues. The recent quarter’s result was driven by project margins (minus 21.3%) burdened by higher planned costs due to the known quality issues as well as the increased product costs and ramp-up challenges in the offshore area in the prior fiscal year. Siemens Gamesa assumes a comparable revenue growth of 0% to positive 4% and a negative Profit before special items of around €2 billion.
