Engineering giant Siemens AG posted unexpectedly strong results and orders on July 30 and tried to turn the page on a scandal over which it intends to seek damages from former directors.
Net profit for the third quarter of Siemens' 2007-2008 fiscal year reached US$2.21 billion, a statement said.
That was a drop of 31% from the equivalent figure a year earlier, but it exceeded the expectations of analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires, who had forecast an average net profit of US$1.4 billion.
The year-earlier figure had also benefited from the creation by Siemens of a joint venture with Finnish rival Nokia in the telecommunications network sector.
Siemens Chief Executive Peter Loescher told a telephone news conference that the company's 500 top directors would have to buy shares in the parent group, a system aimed at reinforcing their long-term motivation.
The value of the shares would range from 50% to 300% of the executive's annual gross salary, Loescher said.
Siemens released the results a day after saying it would pursue 11 former directors for damages because it felt they had ignored widespread corruption revealed nearly two years ago.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2008
