Siemens's guidance is ‘courageous’, says Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser
Kaeser says Siemens expects to shrug off global geopolitical tension and achieve ‘moderate’ sales growth in 2019
Munich —Siemens bucked the trend of boardroom caution when it said on Thursday it expects to shrug off global geopolitical tensions and notch up “moderate” sales growth in 2019. CEO Joe Kaeser described the German engineering company's guidance as “courageous”, saying it saw only limited risks and expected to increased sales in the 3%-5% range during its 2019 fiscal year, which began on October 1. The outlook was for “moderate growth”, he said after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings. “The capital markets would likely interpret that as growth of between 3% and 5%,” he said. The train-to-turbine maker's shares rose 1.1% in early trading, bolstered by a new €3bn share buyback. “If everybody is concerned, there has to be somebody who brings hope and shows people the way. This is not arrogant ... Our customers like what we do,” Kaeser said. Many companies have voiced worries about slowing growth as trade tension between the US and China mounts and economie...
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