Siemens will be keen to overtake rivals: chief executive

German industrial conglomerate Siemens is slimming down so that it can catch up with more profitable rivals as well as improving its technology, the chief executive of the 160-year old company said on November 29.
"We do not just want to be market leader in technology, we want to lead in regard to profitability," said Peter Loescher, who took over Siemens in May.
Loescher gained approval at a supervisory board meeting on November 28 for his plans to restructure the company, which included scaling down the management board to 8 from 11 posts and regrouping the company's eight units into three divisions.
Austrian-born Loescher, the first outsider to head the Munich-based company, said targets for the new divisions would be "ambitious".
For its medical technology business, Siemens was aiming for an operating margin of 14-17 percent. Targets for the other units would be announced in January.
"We are definitely opening a new chapter for Siemens," Loescher said, adding that he expected to see results within the year.
Siemens' plan to buy back up to 10 billion euros ($14.81 billion) worth of stock was certain, Loescher added: "The share buyback programme is carved in stone."
Siemens shares gained 1 percent to 101.50 by 1247 GMT, outperforming the DJ Stoxx technology index, which was up 0.7 percent.
Loescher sawould focus on organic growth but as it continues to streamline its portfolio there were likely to be acquisitions and divestments, such as the sale of its network division, SEN, where Siemens was in "intensive talks".
He declined to say whether there would be job cuts, saying only that restructuring "does not come without noise". The company may face fines or sanctions in the United States, and Loescher said he and Siemens chairman Gerhard Cromme were due to meet with the SEC in the coming weeks. Investigations into suspected bribes that may amount to billions of euros prompted Siemens' previous CEO and chairman to resign this year.
Siemens shares trade at around 20 times 2006/2007 earnings but just 15 times expected 2007/2008 earnings, according to Reuters Estimates. By comparison, main rival General Electric trades at a multiple of around 18 times 2007 and 17 times 2008 earnings.