Siemens profit falls on severance, tax costs; dividend up

Industrial equipment and technology company Siemens AG says net profit fell 46 percent in the most recent quarter as the company had expenses for severance and higher tax costs.

Net profit fell to 681 million euros ($777 million) from 1.25 billion in the year-earlier quarter. Revenue rose 2 percent to 22.6 billion euros.

The Munich-based company said Thursday it met its financial targets for the year at the end of the quarter, the company's fiscal fourth. It proposed to raise its dividend by 10 cents to 3.80 per share and announced a new 3.0 billion-euro share buyback program to run through 2021.

The company saw 301 million euros in severance costs at its power and gas unit and higher tax costs at its train-building unit.

Explore further: Higher fuel costs clip Lufthansa's wings in third quarter