Siemens Chief Executive Klaus Kleinfeld defended his decision to quit as he presented results on Thursday that showed he had achieved the goals on which he staked his reputation two years ago.
A subdued Kleinfeld said his position had been made untenable by the hesitancy of the Siemens supervisory board in extending his contract until the results of corruption investigations at the German conglomerate become clearer.
"I needed the board to be unanimous and say: 'Here's the man we want to lead our company into the future'," Kleinfeld said. "That didn't happen." New Chairman Gerhard Cromme said the board was reluctant to renew Kleinfeld's contract after a briefing from its lawyers.
Siemens earlier gave details of its forecast-beating second-quarter results, key figures of which it had pre-released on the eve of the crucial supervisory board meeting. It said sales had been driven by a resurgent European economy, with its automation, power and healthcare units benefiting in particular from a 16-percent increase in European revenues excluding Germany, and a 6-percent rise in Germany. Overall, operating profit leapt 49 percent thanks partly to 10-percent higher sales and partly to operating efficiencies.