munich<u+2014>the chief executive of siemens ag warned that rising populism is a threat facing business and the global economy as the german industrial giant reported a 20% increase in fiscal fourth-quarter earnings. joe kaeser singled out the populist political movements on the rise in europe, including the referendum vote in the u.k. to leave the european union, and the problem of mass migration. <u+201c>the rapid rise of political and social populism and accelerating global migration are causes of concern,<u+201d> mr. kaeser said. the siemens ceo said he didn<u+2019>t see the election of donald trump as the next u.s. president in the same vein as some of the populist movements that have swept through europe. <u+201c>siemens congratulates mr. trump on his victory,<u+201d> mr. kaeser said at the start of his remarks. <u+201c>we<u+2019>re looking forward to continuing our trust-based cooperation with the new u.s. administration,<u+201d> he said. siemens is a heavy investor in the u.s. and has expanded rapidly in the energy sector in recent years. the company said strong underlying growth at most of its industrial business divisions contributed to the jump in net profit to <u+20ac>1.15 billion ($1.25 billion) in the three months to end-september from <u+20ac>959 million in the same period a year earlier. the figure fell short of the average of analysts<u+2019> forecasts for net profit of <u+20ac>1.26 billion. revenue rose 3%, to <u+20ac>21.95 billion, helped by strong growth at the power and gas division. revenue growth in that business was mainly a result of the <u+201c>strong execution<u+201d> of a large order backlog, including a <u+20ac>8 billion power generation deal with egypt, the company said. all of the company<u+2019>s industrial business divisions were profitable, with the exception of the process industries and drives unit, which produces automation technology, industrial software and other components for manufacturers. the division posted a <u+20ac>72 million loss on weaknesses in the oil and gas and other commodity markets, and related severance charges. siemens<u+2019>s consistently lucrative health-care division benefited from strong earnings from its diagnostic-imaging business. remaining profitable will require continued investment in new technologies, the company said, as it confirmed a long-expected plans to publicly list the unit. siemens last year legally separated the health-care division in anticipation of a possible flotation. the company said the timing of the listing would depend on the stock market environment, while chief financial officer ralf thomas indicated siemens could keep a majority stake in the business. siemens outlined its guidance for fiscal year 2017, saying it expects a profit margin for its industrial business in a range of 10.5% to 11.5%, compared with 10.8% in fiscal 2016. siemens proposed a dividend of <u+20ac>3.6 a share for fiscal 2016, up from <u+20ac>3.5 a share in fiscal 2015. write to christopher alessi at christopher.alessi@wsj.com
siemens warns of populist threat to business as profit jumps - wsj
christopher alessi