BERLIN, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- German technology giant Siemens is planning to raise its dividend by 0.10 euros to 3.90 euros per share for fiscal year 2019, the company announced on Thursday while presenting its 4th quarter results.
"The weakening of the global economy accelerated clearly during fiscal 2019," said Siemens' chief executive officer (CEO) Joe Kaeser. However, the company have been "able to underscore Siemens' performance aspiration with a brilliant fourth quarter," he added.
During the fourth quarter of Siemens' fiscal year 2019, which lasted from July to September, Siemens achieved revenues of 24.5 billion euros (27.16 billion U.S. dollars), marking an increase of 8 percent compared to the same period last year, according to the company.
Siemens Healthineers, the medical technology subsidiary of Siemens, and the Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy branch would have contributed to the increase in group revenue with double-digit growth in the fourth quarter.
Over the whole fiscal year 2019, revenues of Siemens increased by 5 percent to 86.8 billion euros while net profits amounted to 5.6 billion euros, around 0.4 billion euros less than last year.
Previous year's net incomes would have profited from "largely tax-free gains" from the transfer of Siemens' stake in French IT service company Atos to the Siemens Pension-Trust as well as from the sale of shares of lighting manufacturer Osram, a former subsidiary of Siemens, according to the company.
Siemens company strategy Vision 2020+ would begin to "get traction", which also included the "progress of the planned high priority public listing of Siemens Energy," its CEO commented.
Siemens is currently aiming to establish a new energy subsidiary called Siemens Energy. The German technology giant is intending to carve out its current Gas and Power segment as well as to contribute its 59 percent stake in the Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy branch into the new energy subsidiary.
Siemens Energy is scheduled to be publicly listed before the end of fiscal year 2020. Siemens is expecting a "substantial" gain from the spin-off of the energy business, however, the company was not able to "reliably quantify" the exact amount.
Shares of Siemens went up 4.89 percent on Thursday, making it the most-traded share with a turnover of 501.2 million euros (555.2 million U.S. dollars) on Germany's benchmark index DAX.
