Running its business year from October to September, Germany's Siemens on Thursday reported a 0.7-percent rise in net profit for its second quarter to 1.45 billion euros ($1.58 billion).

Revenues in the January to March period were up 6 percent at 20.2 billion euros, the company said in a statement. Siemens said the result was attributable to strong growth in all its industrial segments, ranging from wind turbines and power plants to trains and medical equipment.

The company noted its order books swelled by 2 percent to 22.6 billion euros in the second quarter.

New challenges

In the second half of the year, Siemens aims to integrate newly-acquired software firm Mentor Graphics into its business. The US-based company is seen by managers as key to developing Siemens' vision of future factories.

A second priority is the launch of wind turbine subsidiary Gamesa Renewable Energy, born from a recent merger with Spanish manufacturer Gamesa.

Siemens' Chief Financial Officer Ralf Thomas said anti-trust authorities should be less rigid in assessing the company's plan to merge its train business with that of Canada's Bombardier. He came out in favor of further market consolidation in Europe, considering fierce competition from China's rail giant CRRC.

hg/jd (dpa, AFP)