"The weakening of the global economy accelerated significantly in the course of fiscal 2019. Nevertheless, we were once again able to underline Siemens ' performance with a brilliant fourth quarter. We fully met our forecast for the year in all respects," said Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser on the occasion of the Munich-based company's earnings announcement.

Incoming orders increased by 7% to 98 billion euros, while sales revenue rose by 5% to 86.8 billion euros. Order intake (excluding currency translation and portfolio effects) also grew by 6 percent. A majority of the industrial businesses contributed to the growth, according to Siemens.

At €5.6 billion, profit after tax was below the previous year's figure, which had largely included tax-free gains from the transfer of Siemens' stake in Atos SE to Siemens Pension-Trust e.V. and the sale of shares in Osram Licht AG. The book-to-bill ratio amounted to 1.13.

Good fourth quarter contributes to growth

Despite the weakening economy, Siemens grew strongly in the fourth quarter. Sales increased by 8 percent to 24.5 billion euros, incoming orders were 4 percent above the previous year's high level at 24.7 billion euros; the book-to-bill ratio was 1.01.

The strong order intake is primarily due to the increasing volume of major orders. Growth was driven in particular by Gas and Power, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE), Smart Infrastructure and Healthineers, while Mobility suffered a sharp decline. The very strong development at Siemens Healthineers and SGRE was emphasized in particular.

At 146 billion euros, the order backlog set a new record, boosted by positive currency translation effects. These also increased the growth in order intake and sales revenue by two percentage points each. You can find the figures in detail in the picture gallery.

For the 2020 fiscal year, Siemens expects a moderate increase in revenue on a like-for-like basis in a subdued global economy. According to Siemens, risks arise in particular from geopolitical and geoeconomic uncertainties. The Group assumes a moderate decline in the volume of markets served by our short-cycle businesses.