Siemens earnings down 12 percent in fiscal Q1

(AP) Industrial conglomerate Siemens AG says its net earnings declined 12 percent in the October-December quarter as revenue edged slightly higher, new orders declined and the company took one-time charges some related to the solar power business it is selling.

The company said Wednesday that it earned 1.21 billion ($1.6 billion) in its fiscal first quarter, compared with 1.38 billion a year earlier. Revenue climbed 2 percent to 18.13 billion from 17.86 billion.

However, orders dropped 3 percent to 19.14 billion from 19.72 billion. CEO Peter Loescher cautioned: for the rest of the year as well, we don't expect any tailwinds from the global economy.

Siemens said a 150 million loss at the solar business contributed to the net profit decline. Its transport business also took charges of 116 million.