Cutbacks pay off for Siemens

Giant German firm notches up its highest quarterly profit in two years

FRANKFURT: Siemens AG, Europe's largest engineering company, reported the highest quarterly profit in more than two years as the German company cut workers at its lighting unit and lowered administrative expenses.

So-called sector profit, or operating earnings at the main industry, energy, and healthcare units, rose 11 percent to 2.26 billion euros ($3.2 billion), beating the mean of 1.82 billion euros in a Bloomberg survey of 10 analysts. Net income in the quarter ended Dec 31 rose 23 percent to 1.48 billion euros, Munich-based Siemens said in a statement.