Siemens 2012 Annual Report Download - page 94

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The world of
Siemens’ Annual Report
Key figures / Segment information
4
Our goal – Excellence
We’re closely connected with people everywhere – with workers in factories, with the operators and
users of infrastructure facilities, with engineers in laboratories and research centers. And it’s because
we’re so closely connected with people in so many different regions and environments that we’re also
able to precisely gauge their needs and their technology requirements. We know, for instance, that
customers across the board are increasingly demanding tailor-made IT applications and software
solutions. And we’re the ideal partner to provide these solutions, since we have the necessary industry
expertise and products – in areas ranging from power plant controls and building management systems
to healthcare solutions and manufacturing technologies. NASA, the U.S. space agency, utilized IT of
this kind to develop the Mars rover Curiosity, whose fascinating images are yet further testimony to
our engineering excellence. We know the challenges posed by the restructuring of the world’s energy
supply. And we know the challenges facing today ’s city planners. To address these urban challenges,
we’ve been showcasing future-oriented solutions for the world’s fast-growing cities at the Crystal, our
urban development center in London, since September 2012. As a company that’s been internationally
oriented since its founding, we also know the world’s new high-growth markets: the BRIC countries
and the so-called second-wave countries like South Africa, Indonesia and Turkey. We’ve been active in
all four BRIC countries for more than 100 years. In Russia and South Africa, we’ve had operations for
over 150 years. Long-term partnerships like these build trust and
create opportunities to promote
sustainable development on a local basis while generating profitable
growth for our Company. All four
of our Sectors are exploiting these opportunities worldwide by continuing to sharpen their focus on
the megatrends of our globalized age – climate change, demographic change and urbanization. Our
Healthcare Sector has also profited from the rigorous implemen tation of Agenda 2013, the efficiency-
boosting program we launched in November 2011.
All in all, Siemens is well positioned to seize the opportunities of the future – as we demonstrated
again in fiscal 2012. Continuing a decade of substantially improved performance, we posted a 7%
increase in revenue and generated €5.2 billion in income from continuing operations, one of our
largest profits ever. I would like to thank Siemens employees around the world for their commitment
and their contribution to this success. As fiscal 2012 also confirmed, our earnings per share have
considerably increased over the last decade as well: still just €2.92 in 2002, they now total more than
€5. And thanks to our tradition of foresighted financial policies, we can be sure that our operations
will continue to have a very stable basis in the future.
But fiscal 2012 makes clear that we haven’t always adapted flexibly enough to changes in our markets
and in our market position, and we haven’t placed sufficient emphasis everywhere on continuously
improving our Company and driving its efficiency. New orders declined 10% during the year, and,
although
we increased our revenue, we didn’t meet the targets we’d set for profitability relative to our
competitors.
Our review of fiscal 2012 shows that we’re good – but not as good as we can be. Looking to the future,
this means we’ll have to intensify our efforts in order to outpace our competitors once again and
achieve the results that we as Siemens employees and you as our shareholders have a right to expect
of our Company.