Siemens Ltd has obtained board approval to demerge its energy business into a separate entity that will be listed. Shareholders will get one share in the new entity for every share held.
The shareholding of Siemens Energy India will mirror the shareholding of the parent entity, with 69 per cent held by Siemens AG, 6 per cent by Siemens Energy (a global entity) and the remaining with the public.
In a media call, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Sunil Mathur, said that over a period of time Siemens Energy will take a major stake in the spun-off entity while the stake of Siemens AG in Siemens Ltd will also increase, but said he could not give any indication as to how much that stake will be or the timeline for that.
The demerger of the energy business is part of a global strategy set in motion in 2020 when Siemens AG had demerged its energy business globally.
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The energy business of the Indian entity is engaged in providing fully-integrated products, solutions and services across the energy value chain of oil and gas production, power generation and transmission for various customers such as utilities, independent power producers and engineering, procurement and construction companies. In FY23 (year ending September 30, 2023), the energy segment reported revenue of ₹59,869 crore, accounting for a little over a third of the total revenue.
The rationale for the demerger is to ensure that both the entities can focus on their respective core activities, portfolios and capital allocation. “This will enable both businesses to have independent and focussed management and adopt a clear, direct and tailored go-to-market and operational approach for the respective businesses to leverage the full potential of the Indian and export markets,” a statement said.
“Siemens Ltd will continue to be a leading technology-focused company in industry, infrastructure and mobility, and Siemens Energy India will focus on being the most-valued energy technology company supporting its customers and transitioning to a more sustainable workplace,” said Mathur.
He said with the government spend on infrastructure, there would also be an uptick for energy needs. He estimated the energy market to grow at 9 per cent annually till 2030. “The growth rates for the energy business are terrific as the government and the country move towards more renewable structure. There will be opportunities in the area of generation as well as transmission,” he added.
The transaction is expected to be completed by 2025 and the new company to be listed in the same year.
Capex
The board of Siemens also approved an investment of ₹519 crore for expanding capacities at a switchgear factory in Goa and a metro train manufacturing unit in Aurangabad. Capacity is being expanded at Goa with an investment of ₹333 crore and is expected to be completed by FY27. At Aurangabad, it will invest ₹186 crore for a new green-field metro-car assembly set-up and this would be completed by FY28.
The factory footprint in Goa is being augmented to meet the rapidly-increasing need for critical components of the industry, infrastructure and power distribution sectors. These products will help customers in sectors such as data centres, metro rail, oil and gas, steel, transmission and distribution to meet their sustainability goals.
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In November 2023, the company had already announced capacity expansions of power transformers factory in Kalwa and Vacuum Interrupter factory in Goa and taking its total capex to ₹1,000 crore.
Performance
In the March quarter, the company reported a 74 per cent rise in net profit at ₹896 crore, while revenue rose 19 per cent to ₹5,248 crore. It received new orders of ₹5,184 crore in the quarter.
Mathur said that several large orders had been deferred, while there was also a slowdown in ordering of industrial automation products due to shorter delivery cycles.
He said he expected the growth rate to improve in the years ahead.