Siemens reported first-quarter profit slightly ahead of expectations on Thursday (Feb 8) despite the German engineering group seeing a slowdown at its flagship factory automation unit.

Digital Industries, which supplies companies with software and controllers to operate their production lines, saw new orders fall by a third as market conditions weakened.

Customers who built up stocks of components to avoid shortages last year also held off buying new equipment and decided to run down their stocks, Siemens said.

The downturn was seen most strongly in Asia and Australia, due particularly to weakening demand from China, the company added.

Like other industrial companies Siemens’s results are seen as a proxy for the broader global economy.

Still, a stronger performance from the company’s train-making Mobility helped offset the downturn, while Siemens’s building automation basis Smart Infrastructure reported its best-ever quarter.

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Overall, Siemens reported industrial profit increasing by 3 per cent to 2.72 billion euros (S$3.94 billion) for the three months to the end of December, beating forecasts of 2.64 billion euros in a company-gathered consensus of analysts.

Revenue rose 2 per cent to 18.41 billion euros, below the 18.58 billion euros forecast, as currency translation effects - mainly from a strengthened dollar - reduced sales when reported in euros. REUTERS