Germany's Siemens reported a drop in operating profit but higher sales and new orders in a mixed fourth quarter, and said it planned to return some of its cash pile to investors by raising its dividend.
The maker of trains, power plants, light bulbs and telecoms equipment said fiscal fourth-quarter operating income fell 37 percent to 926 million euros ($1.09 billion), short of the average forecast of 1.015 billion in a Reuters poll of 17 analysts.
Over the full year, Siemens met its goal for income from continuing operations to match last year's figure of 3.058 billion euros, including a higher than expected cost of nearly 810 million euros for divesting mobile phones.
Siemens' key problem area was its IT services unit SBS which made a much bigger than expected loss in the quarter to September, compounded by high restructuring costs as it cuts thousands of staff.
Quarterly group sales rose 13 percent to 22.106 billion euros, better than the 21.255 billion expected in the poll, despite a fall in revenue in Siemens's home market of Germany.
Chief Executive Klaus Kleinfeld told journalists he was optimistic sales would grow again in the current fiscal year to September 2006 and that earnings would be at least flat.
He reiterated his goal that all Siemens' units - reduced to 11 after a decision to dissolve ailing logistics unit L&A - should reach targets set for operating profit margins by 2007.