FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) -- German industrial machinery company Siemens AG saw its quarterly profits nearly double as it booked a big one-off gain following the sale of its stake in a nuclear venture.
The company on Wednesday also reported increased sales and orders for its big-ticket goods in Asia, particularly in China and India.
Siemens said net income in its fiscal second-quarter rose 89 percent to €2.83 billion ($4.18 billion) from €1.50 billion a year ago while revenues increased 7 percent to €17.7 billion.
The profit rise was largely due to a €1.52 billion gain for the sale of its stake in nuclear venture Areva NP. Siemens sold its 34 percent stake in joint venture Areva NP, which makes and services nuclear reactors, to its partner, France's Areva.
As with Germany's car makers, Siemens reported strong growth in emerging economies such as China and India, where revenue was up 20 percent, a continuing recovery in the United States, and Europe lagging behind with smaller increases. Business in Europe was helped by orders for three large offshore wind farms in Germany.
Munich-based Siemens makes heavy-duty machinery such as wind turbines, high-speed trains and medical scanners.
The company's performance of €3.20 per share beat consensus analyst estimates of €2.01 per share, and it raised its outlook for this year to €7.5 billion in earnings from continuing operations. Previously it forecast an increase of 25 percent to 35 percent from last year's figure of €4.262 billion, or up to €5.8 billion.
Shares however dipped 1.4 percent to €95.99 in morning trading German time.