Siemens seeing ‘normalisation’ in demand after Q3 misses forecasts

ZURICH (Reuters) – Siemens is seeing a “normalisation in demand”, particularly in China, the German engineering group said on Thursday as it reported third quarter profit which missed forecasts.

The trains to factory automation maker posted industrial profit falling 4% to 2.75 billion euros ($3.02 billion) for the three months to the end of June, missing analyst forecasts for 2.90 billion euros in a company-gathered consensus.

Siemens kept its group level outlook for the year to the end of September, but lowered its expectations for its digital industries business which supplies factories with software and controllers.

The division, seen by analysts as the jewel in Siemens’s crown, now expects comparable revenue growth of 13% to 15%, down from an increase of 17% to 20% previously.

It also expects the profit margin at Digital Industries in a range of 22% to 23%, 50 basis points below previous expectations.

Chief Executive Roland Busch highlighted weakening demand in some markets, after customers in previous quarters had pre-ordered products to avoid shortages.

“We have seen a normalisation of demand, particularly in China and in short-cycle business,” he said in a statement.

($1 = 0.9106 euros)