Dear shareholders, ladies and gentlemen. As chairman of the supervisory board, I herewith open the Annual Shareholders' Meeting 2023 of Siemens Energy and take the chair in accordance with the articles of association. Today, we report to you on our second year as an independent listed company. On behalf of the supervisory board and the executive board, I would like to welcome all shareholders and their proxies. I would also like to welcome all other guests who are following our annual shareholders' meeting online. I do hope you're all well and in good health. Our virtual annual shareholders meeting today is being held in Munich live on site at Otto-Hahn-Ring 6. I welcome the executive board, CEO Dr. Christian Bruch, CFO Maria Ferraro, Karim Amin, Anne-Laure de Chammard , Tim Holt, and Vinod Philip. They all sit right here on stage with me.
I would also like to welcome the supervisory board, the Vice Chairs Robert Kensböck and Dr. Hubert Lienhard. They are also seated on stage with us today. Mr. Lienhard will take over for me as chairman of the meeting in case I become unable to do so. In light of the continued need for caution, we have limited the number of people present on stage. The remaining members of the supervisory board are participating in the meeting from a separate adjoining room here in the same building, which is also part of the meeting venue. Nadine Florian unfortunately cannot be here today due to illness. Dear Nadine, we hope you get well really soon. Of course, we'd also like to welcome the company-appointed proxies, Dr. Anne-Janet Wöhlner and Dieter Kießling. Here on stage, we also have our notary public.
Jens Kirchner present, who will be responsible for notarizing the shareholders' meeting. Before I report to you on the work of the supervisory board in the past fiscal year, meaning the period from October 1st, 2021 to September 30th, 2022, let me say just a few words about the format and the procedure of today's annual shareholders' meeting. The German legislator created the legal basis in July 2022 to establish virtual annual shareholders' meetings on a permanent basis as an equivalent alternative to an in-person shareholders' meeting. The new virtual format gives us the formal framework to safeguard all shareholders' rights, enable interactive dialogue, and at the same time, realize benefits such as global participation and of course, also lower CO₂ emissions, while also at the same time having lower costs.
As experience of the practical implementation is still something that we're lacking, we propose a 2-year authorization for this virtual implementation. In this time, we will gain experience with the new format, make new decisions on the basis for each annual shareholders meeting during this period. Today's shareholders meeting will be held in this new virtual format. What does this mean specifically? You will be able to address your speeches, questions, and motions to us, the executive board and supervisory board, live via video during today's meeting. I will explain the procedure you can use to do so in just a few moments. Dr. Bruch's speech script, as well as my speech script, were published on our company's website on February 3rd, 2023. Doing so, of course, you were able to familiarize yourself with their content.
I look forward to a lively and active exchange with you today. Today's shareholders meeting was convened in due form and time by publication in the Federal Gazette on December 19th, 2022. You were notified of the convening with the agenda and the management-proposed resolutions together with the notice of the annual shareholders meeting. You will find them together with the other documents to be made available on our company's website. The website here is www.siemens-energy.com/generalmeeting or Hauptversammlung for German. For a few brief notes on the broadcast of our virtual shareholders meeting. Our shareholders and their proxies will be able to follow the entire shareholders meeting live with audio and video via the password-protected internet service for the annual shareholders meeting. This option is available to you irrespective of your registration to the AGM.
You will find information on the availability of the Internet service on, and on access data in the notice of the meeting in your registration documents, which you received either via mail or email. My introductory remarks, as well as those of the Chairman of the Executive Board, will also be broadcast to third parties via the Internet. They will be recorded and made available later on the company's website. There, you'll also find the scripts of speeches and the presentations. The other parts of the AGM are not recorded. Audio and or video recordings are also not permitted. We have carefully examined the necessary technical arrangements for the live transmission together with our respective service providers. Should the live broadcast unexpectedly be interrupted, please do be patient. If we cannot restore the connection, we will provide further information via our Internet service and the company's website.
For individual technical problems, please contact our hotline directly. You will find the contact details on our website for the annual shareholders' meeting. The list of attendees can be viewed via the Internet service by registered shareholders or their proxies. Of course, we'll be continuously updating it until the very end of the annual shareholders' meeting, and I will provide you with exact attendance figures later. Dear shareholders, at this shareholders' meeting, you will have the opportunity to speak live and address your questions on the agenda to the executive board as well as the supervisory board. As already announced in the notice for today's shareholders' meeting, I hereby stipulate that the right to information is to be exercised by way of video communication. The law already stipulates that speeches and motions must be made by video communication.
To ensure that the annual shareholders meeting proceeds swiftly, we will discuss all the items on the agenda in a general debate following the report by the Executive Board. Afterwards, we will proceed to vote on agenda items two to twelve. Should you wish to speak at today's meeting, ask questions or even propose a motion, please register now if possible at our virtual speaker's desk, quote-unquote. That's what we've called it. Please use the password-protected Internet service and click the Request to speak. This is the left button, or Motion, which is the right button. In the corresponding input field in the Internet service, please enter a telephone number to contact you in case of technical problems. Please also include keywords for those topics you would like to talk about.
At the start of the general debate, I'll call the first scheduled speakers and first ask them to enter a virtual waiting room. Again, that's what we're calling it. There, our staff will conduct a further function test of the video communication. Only then is it possible for the speakers to join us live right here at the annual shareholders meeting via video. Again, I will explain the procedure in more detail later. A live link to the annual shareholders meeting, of course, requires a functional video communication between shareholder and company. That being said, if this is missing or not available or become unavailable, we unfortunately have to reject a speech or contribution or end it prematurely even. Recommendations for a working electronic video connection and tips for your live appearance are available on our website.
Dear shareholders, you also had the opportunity to submit written comments in advance. We have received a total of 60 comments from shareholders or their proxies, which must be published. You can find them in the Internet service for the annual shareholders meeting. Now, the exercise of voting rights in the virtual general meeting is done exclusively by written vote or by issuing a power of attorney or an instruction to the company designated proxies and on today's date only via the Internet service. I'll speak more about this later. However, I would like to already make a request now. Exercise your voting rights as early as possible, maybe even now, because please do remember that for technical reasons, there may be a slight delay in the transmission via the Internet.
I will point this out in good time, and of course, again, announce the time by which the vote must be cast. Connected shareholders or their proxies can declare their objection to the resolutions of the annual shareholders meeting via our Internet service. An objection declared in this way will be sent directly to an email inbox managed by our notary public himself. Objections can be launched and lobbied until immediately before the closing of the annual shareholders meeting. I will, of course, announce the exact closing time. In time, the company appointed proxies do not declare any objections on behalf of shareholders. Dear shareholders, ladies and gentlemen. Today, I report to you on the activities of the supervisory board in what was, in many respects, a remarkable and challenging fiscal 2022. Events and changes were truly profound.
You're all familiar with the issues that move the world and of course, that are causing continued uncertainty. Ukraine, the Ukraine War, COVID in China, geopolitical and geo-economic tensions between different economic systems, above all, between China and the United States. Inflation due to spiraling energy and raw material prices, supply gaps and breaks in supply chains. Extreme manifestations of the climate crisis. As you can see, not only in Germany, have reached a true turning point. Those of you who attended the last annual shareholders meeting on February 24, 2022, you might remember a few hours before our shareholders meeting, Russia had started the invasion of Ukraine. We were all shocked. A brutally waged war of aggression in the middle of Europe broke out, waged by the means of the twentieth century. This war had a serious impact to this day.
Serious impact on supply chains, trade relations, and the flow of goods on long-standing business relationships, including, of course, those of Siemens Energy. It had an impact on the food supply and energy supply for millions of people on inflation and the economic growth around the globe. The most serious impact, of course, is or it was on the safety and lives of more than 40 million Ukrainians. It is to them that we extend our support and solidarity to. Today is day 349 of this terrible war. Already today, that is 349 days too many. As a consequence of the war, energy security and affordability became a true challenge. We had taken it for granted that we would be at least able to get energy safely, reliably, and at stable prices. Suddenly, everything was different.
Questions were raised about the failures in Europe's energy policy, and rightly so. The challenges of energy security and affordability have moved to the absolute forefront. Nevertheless, sustainability must remain at the top of the agenda because climate change continues to progress. Its effects have also shaped the past 12 months. We all still remember the images of forest fires, floods, or even the dried-up Rhine River in Germany. Now, in contrast to the territorial state order, climate protection is not a task that we can do only in this country. It is a global task, and Siemens Energy can, together with partners and customers, be co-creator of the energy transition and contribute to significantly reducing CO₂ emissions worldwide.
This gives the company a key role in the fight against climate, against the climate crisis, as well as in reliable, reliably supplying billions of people with safe and sustainable and affordable energy. Ladies and gentlemen, let us move to our agenda for the day. I will now turn to the report of the supervisory board report, which is also part of agenda item number one. You will find the detailed report of this on the pages 137- 142 of our annual report. In the following, I will of course, focus on a few key aspects of the supervisory board's work. In the year under review, so last year, we had six regular meetings and one extraordinary meeting of the supervisory board that were held.
In addition, the supervisory board passed 1 resolution in the year under review using the so-called electronic data room, a virtual voting instrument. In addition to the classic tasks such as monitoring the operating business, examining the financial statements and the executive board compensation, the following topics were at the forefront of our minds. The supervisory board obtained regular information from the executive board and an especially established task force on the impact of the Russian war of aggression and the sanctions on our business activities. It supports the clear position of the executive board to restructure the Russian business and withdraw from the Russian market. Second, in the past fiscal year, the supervisory board focused on the situation at Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, or SGRE for short.
SGRE and the opportunities and risks of a full integration, as well as its process and financing, were a big topic. Thirdly, the supervisory board dealt intensively with the new corporate structure as of October 1, 2022, as well as its impact on personnel, HR, processes and external reporting. Four reporting segments are disclosed: Gas Services, Grid Technologies, Transformation of Industry, and of course, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy. For each segment, for each of those four segments, there is a clear and direct responsibility in the executive board. The performance of each individual business is thus also clearly traceable externally. We believe that this structure especially promotes responsibility and accountability. The supervisory board dealt with the strategic further development of Siemens Energy into an integrated energy technology company and with the sustainability strategy connected.
Due to the particular importance of the topic of innovation for strategy and competitiveness, the supervisory board decided to discuss the innovation strategy as part of the overall strategy in the plenary session. The topic of sustainability is now discussed in depth in the so-called Sustainability and Finance Committee. In German, it's called NFA for short. It used to be the Innovation and Finance Committee. The so-called ESG topics or environmental, social and governance issues, and of course, we mainly use the English acronym, is taking an even more important role in the work of the supervisory board. For an optimized coordination between the NFA and the audit committee, which of course also deals with a lot of those and similar topics, the audit committee chairwoman is invited as a permanent guest. Fifth, the supervisory board, of course, also discusses our auditor very intensively so.
Starting with fiscal 2024, Siemens Energy intends to appoint the auditing firm KPMG as its auditor for the annual and consolidated financial statements. Now of course, we are going to present this to you at next year's AGM. The Supervisory Board also dealt in detail with HR issues and changes. On the employee side in the Supervisory Board, as of August 31, 2022, Rüdiger Groß and Hagen Reimer retired. Since the very beginning of the company, they were part of the Supervisory Board and I would of course like to express my sincere thanks to them for their always constructive cooperation, not only on behalf of the Supervisory Board but also the Executive Board. I would also like to welcome the two new members, Manuel Blümle and Thomas Pfann, who joined the Supervisory Board on September 1, 2022 as succession candidates. Mr.
Blümle, Mr. Pfann, I look forward to continuing to work with you. There were also changes to the executive board we reported. For example, the supervisory board approved the termination of the executive board mandate of Dr. Jochen Eickholt who became CEO of Siemens Gamesa effective March 1, 2022. On behalf of the supervisory board, I would like to thank Mr. Eickholt for the fantastic job well done here at Siemens Energy, and I wish him every success in his new ever so important role at SGRE. As basically his successor, the supervisory board appointed Karim Amin to replace Mr. Eickholt as a member of the executive board effective March 1, 2022. Initially, Mr. Amin was responsible for the generation division, but is now responsible for the entire Gas Services business area.
There were two further new additions to the executive board in the current fiscal year. Vinod Philip, previously Chief Technology Officer and Chief Strategy Officer. Chief Technology Officer, usually, of course, is abbreviated as CTO, who has been appointed to the global functions executive board effective October 1, 2022, and is therefore responsible for innovation, IT, and purchasing, among other things. Anne-Laure de Chammard was also appointed to the executive board as of November 1, 2022, with responsibility for the Transformation of Industry business unit. With Ms. de Chammard, Mr. Amin and Mr. Philip, we were able to attract three knowledgeable, worldly, but especially three empathetic leaders. Now they make our leadership team even more diverse and even stronger, as I'm convinced. I truly do look forward to continuing to work with them and wish them every success on behalf of the supervisory board.
Thank you very much for being with us. In the current fiscal year, the supervisory board has already extended the mandates of executive board members, Maria Ferraro and Tim Holt ahead of schedule, as they were set to expire at the end of September 2023, with a new expiration date of November 2027. By extending their contracts ahead of schedule, we are creating continuity on the executive board. Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, exchange with the members of the executive board is a crucial component of the work of the supervisory board, and therefore, I am in regular and direct contact with all members. This, of course, also applies to our legal and compliance function because integrity and zero tolerance in compliance matters are the foundations. Let me repeat, they are the foundations of sustainable, honest business practices with integrity.
In addition to this, of course, I speak with institutional investors about current leadership, governance, and sustainability topics relating to the supervisory board or the company. I also exchange views with political decision-makers around the world and with representatives of the scientific community as well as NGOs. Feedback gained from this is an important, a truly elemental part of the continuous development of the work of the supervisory board of a globally acting energy transformation company. This of course also includes exchange within the very much globally-oriented so-called community of chairpersons of the World Economic Forum. Ladies and gentlemen, under agenda item number one, of course, we can see the annual financial statement and the consolidated financial statement, as well as the combined management report for Siemens Energy AG and the Siemens Group for fiscal 2022.
All of these documents have, of course, been already audited by Ernst & Young GmbH, and they have been issued with an unqualified audit opinion. The executive boards and the auditors have examined the financial statement documents, including the non-financial statement, and both were explained in detail to the audit committee as well as the supervisory board. The supervisory board approved the financial statement after an intense review. The annual financial statements of Siemens Energy AG are thus adopted. I already spoke about the matter of the virtual shareholders meeting at the beginning, ladies and gentlemen. In order to maintain flexibility for future shareholders meetings, we are therefore proposing a corresponding amendment to the articles of association. Instead of the legally possible 5 years, we are asking you for a 2-year authorization only. Why just 2 years?
We would like to learn from experience with this particular format, which is new to all of us, of course, and then get your feedback after the shareholders meeting, and then resubmit a corresponding resolution proposal for further decisions in the future. We truly have to collect experience, and then we'll be able to better assess how we're going to deal with this dialogue in the future, and that's why I would like to ask for your support for this amendment of the articles of association. On top of that, the agenda today includes proposed resolutions of the renewal of the company's authorized and conditional capital, as well as the authorization to purchase and use treasury shares. Our CEO, Dr. Christian Bruch, will explain the background to these proposed resolutions in more detail in the further course of the annual shareholders meeting during his remarks.
Dear shareholders, Siemens Energy faced a challenging environment in fiscal 2022. It's truly challenging, I must say. In addition to internal optimizations, geopolitical and geoeconomic issues were a particular focus. Every region of the world, every country needs energy. Electrification and sustainability are high on the political as well as the economic agenda of every country, may I add. The ambition and the means, as well as the speed and determination of implementation, are different in virtually every country. Let me repeat, they're different in practically every country in the world. Of course, this will also change the business opportunities in the respective regions differently. As a global leading solutions provider, Siemens Energy stands in the middle of this diversified, if not to say fragmented environment.
With the most complete and the highest quality offering in the industry, our company has an excellent long-term perspective. During an energy transition at varying speeds, it is crucial to be able to offer options. From hydrogen-powered gas turbines, high-capacity wind farms, smart transmission grids to advanced generation options for different modes of energy, such as green hydrogen or synthetic fuels. The acquisition offer for the remaining shares of Siemens Gamesa was a logical move after careful, let me reiterate, after careful consideration by the board. Economically successful implementation of a full integration is therefore now a key task. This also involves working through deficits from the past, as well as setting up a new, convincing, and long-term plan of action. The management team with Dr.
Jochen Eickholt as CEO and Christian Bruch as chairman is experienced and knows what needs to be done. The considerable successes in the realignment of Gas and Power underline the confidence in the management team to achieve this sustainably at Siemens Gamesa as well. Nevertheless, it will take time to work through the still difficult structure of the old order backlog. In this respect, it is very gratifying that the conventional part of Siemens Energy's business has progressed faster and better than originally planned, both in terms of growth as well as earnings. Not only the executive board, but also many people here in the company have worked very hard to achieve this. Now, to all of you, I would like to say thank you ever so much.
Now, of course, nobody can be satisfied with the development of the share price during the past fiscal year, even though it has recovered significantly since its low in October. A whole number of factors are at play here. Those that Siemens Energy can influence itself are, of course, the focus of management's attention and should really favor noticeable improvements. With the complete takeover of SGRE, as well as the optimization of the structural organization and its processes, the framework for the realignment of Siemens Energy has been set, and in the bigger picture, it's completed. With the completion of the executive board, we have an exceptionally strong management team. Truly an exceptionally strong team. The strategy is in place. The industry offers reliable growth and attractive returns in the medium term. The company has a clear purpose.
It is to benefit society and the world in which we live. This is also so important because the brightest minds are also guided by this in their choice of employer. Ladies and gentlemen, the Supervisory Board expressly supports the alignment of the company by the Executive Board. Mr. Bruch, as CEO and his Executive Board team, have the fullest confidence of the Supervisory Board. On behalf of the Supervisory Board, I would like to thank the Executive Board team and the 91,000 employees and colleagues for their commitment in difficult times and under hard conditions. I would like to thank the owners, the customers, and our partners for your confidence in the company and its committees and boards. It was a challenging fiscal year that demanded a lot.
It was also a year in which we achieved a great deal and set the course for the future. We therefore look to the future with confidence, and thank you very much for your attention. Ms. De Chammard and Mr. Philip will now briefly introduce themselves to you. Afterwards, Dr. Bruch will then report on the fiscal year 2022. With that being said, I wish us all a successful first virtual interactive annual shareholders meeting. Thank you.
Thank you very much for your introductory remarks, Mr. Kaeser. Shareholders, ladies and gentlemen, it is a great honor for me to personally introduce myself to you today as a new member of the board of management. I consider myself European and have lived in France, Austria, Hungary, and Spain. Also in Indonesia and the U.S., I lived for some time and worked there. I am ever the more happy to work in such an international company like Siemens Energy. I studied engineering and finance at the École Polytechnique, one of the French Grande École. I went to study public policy at Harvard University in the U.S.
Most of my career so far has been dedicated to the topic of energy transition, and that in both the public and private sectors, the industry, infrastructure, and the utility business. Before joining Siemens Energy, I was CEO of the International Energy Solutions business of ENGIE, a global utility company. I ran a business with sales of EUR 4 billion, which was generated by around 20,000 employees. The company provides low-emission energy and services to drive forward the decarbonization of industry. Today, I am pleased, as a member of the executive board, to lead the global business of Transformation of Industry. Our goal is also to decarbonize the industrial sector, be it through electrification or hydrogen. We are excellently positioned in the market to support industrial companies in their energy transition. In so doing, we rely on a strong industrial customer base.
This is complemented by a global network, innovative technologies, integrated implementation competencies, and a highly qualified and dedicated team. Since I started three months ago, I have visited our sites in Germany, the U.S., Asia, and Europe. Very soon, I will meet our teams in Latin America and the Middle East, and I am looking forward to it. I was impressed and continue to be by the quality and knowledge in the teams, as well as the commitment to achieve the goals of the energy transition. There is no alternative to transforming industry to less carbon-intensive processes, and I am committed to accelerating this transformation together with our teams and customers. At the same time, I will do everything I can to ensure that our business grows profitably.
Once again, I thank our Chairman, Joe Kaeser, the entire Supervisory Board of Siemens Energy, and our CEO, Christian Bruch, for their trust and support. I'm especially grateful that they have given me the opportunity to contribute to our vision. Thank you very much for your attention. With that, I'll pass on to my fellow board member, Vinod Philip.
Thank you, Anne-Laure. Thank you once again, Joe, for your very kind welcome and introduction. Dear shareholders, ladies and gentlemen, a warm welcome from my side as well to everyone joining today's annual shareholders meeting. It's a pleasure to be with all of you. A few words about myself. I was born in India, and I spent my formative years in Mumbai. I also went to university there, and I studied material science at the Indian Institute of Technology. Following that, in 1996, I moved to Florida, where I pursued my master's in material science and also my MBA in international business. My journey at Siemens started in 1998, and over the past 25 years, I held several positions within the energy business of Siemens and now Siemens Energy.
Since our spin-off, in my prior role as the Chief Technology Officer and Head of Strategy, I had the privilege of working closely with Joe, Christian, Maria, and many others in shaping the strategic direction of the company as it transformed to meet the global demands of energy sustainable, reliable and affordable. I was also responsible for developing and implementing the innovation and technology strategy to help Siemens Energy, as well as its customers around the world towards net zero. In addition to my current role as the member of the executive board responsible for Global Functions, I also head the innovation function. A few words about Global Functions. Global Functions is more than just a collection of corporate functions. We play a crucial role in achieving Siemens Energy's vision of becoming the most valued energy technology company in the world.
In essence, global functions are the connecting link that holds the integrated energy technology company together. We create value along 4 dimensions by addressing four key priorities. One is building world-class capabilities in the different functions to enable Siemens Energy to achieve its strategic targets. Number two utilizing our resources in a flexible, targeted, and agile manner to support our business areas, customers, and regional hubs in the best possible manner. Number three is to standardize, simplify, and harmonize our core processes so that we become faster, more effective, and more competitive. Last but not least, number four driving cost efficiency and optimization by pooling resources where they can be most effective and cost efficient. Dear shareholders, ladies and gentlemen, it is my commitment to you that I will work tirelessly with my team to ensure the success of Siemens Energy, your company and ours.
Thank you all for listening in. Over to Christian.
[Foreign Language]Herzlichen Dank, lieber Enno,
Thank you very much, lieber Enno and Munlo, for this introduction. We are really looking forward to having you on board. I now hand over to Dr. Bruch, the CEO.
Thank you very much. Dear shareholders, ladies and gentlemen. The year 2022 was a stormy year politically, economically and socially. The 24th of February 2022 fundamentally changed the world. Though it had been unimaginable to many on that day, war returned to Europe. The war brought into focus a factor that Europe had previously taken for granted, the availability of energy. Energy is the basis for development and progress. In 2022, we experienced how fragile this foundation can be. Energy has been and continues to be used as a weapon. This endangers the well-being of hundreds of millions of people. The war in Ukraine has led to massive economic dislocations. It challenges entire economies, companies and us as citizens.
In Germany alone, energy prices rose by around 43% from October 2021 to October 2022. All this in an environment in which the inflation rate was also at a historically high level in other areas. In every crisis, there's also an opportunity. The year 2022 also has shown that politics and business can achieve a lot together. Together, we are working on solutions to achieve energy security and drive forward the energy transition. Europe is redefining its energy strategy. The United States is accelerating the energy transition with the Inflation Reduction Act. In other regions too, the energy transition represents a major investment program. 2022 was also the year that many countries emerged from the pandemic. Still, Coronavirus fundamentally changed our lives and the way we collaborate virtually.
At the same time, 2022 further intensified climate change. Forest fires, droughts and floods were on the agenda almost everywhere. With this came the realization that we must act now to achieve the 1.5 degree target. To do this, we need to reduce emissions by 45% by 2030 compared to 2019. There's also a lot to do now in 2023. What did the past fiscal year mean for us as a company? The consequences of war, the pandemic and climate change also determined our day-to-day business. Take Russia, for example. Siemens and Siemens Energy have a 150-year history with Russia. Divesting this business was a painful decision. Despite the difficult boundary conditions, we were able to successfully sell our transformer and gas turbine businesses in Russia. Consider supply chains.
Tight supply chains around the world were further strained by the impact of the war in Ukraine. We had to temporarily close some of our plants in China during the lockdown. This particularly affected components for power grids. We were able to keep many things stable. Our strategy of regionalizing and broadening supply chains helped. We secured prices and availability with long-term contracts. In this way, we were able to almost offset the rise in raw material prices. This amounted to around EUR 800 million. Take inflation as another example. Handling long-running projects at competitive prices is an immense challenge when inflation rates are high, and not just for us, for our suppliers as well. This has also had a negative impact on our profitability. The three examples show the market environment in 2022 was challenging for us.
It is precisely in times like these that we need to weatherproof the company. We have used fiscal year 2022 for this purpose. We made our business at Gas and Power profitable again. We improved internal processes. We streamlined our portfolio, and we reduced costs. Of the savings of EUR 800 million planned by fiscal year 2023, we were already able to realize more than EUR 500 million by the end of the past fiscal year. As a result of this, I am proud to say that in a fiscal year full of challenges, Gas and Power has delivered solid results. Gas and Power delivered what we promised. We have reorganized our company.
The new organization has been in place since the 1st of October 2022. With it, we have increased the transparency of our company vis-à-vis the capital market. We have created clear responsibilities to our business areas. We have significantly reduced the number of hierarchical levels. This structure allows us to respond more flexibly and quickly to market changes. This makes us stronger. At the same time, these changes also meant an enormous effort for our employees. After all, no business unit was left untouched by them. I would therefore like to thank our employees wholeheartedly for their personal commitment. We've been working hard to improve the performance of Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, SGRE, in which we hold a majority stake. We want to stabilize the business and make it profitable again.
There were challenges with the market launch of a new onshore wind turbine. In addition, higher raw material prices and pressure in logistics chains weighed on the company. As a result, SGRE and thus we as Siemens Energy, had to adjust our revenue and earnings forecast for fiscal year 2022. In January 2023, there was another profit warning. More on this later. We've responded to this by making a new appointment to the position of chief executive officer. Jochen Eickholt, a proven restructuring expert, took office on the 1st of March 2022. Together with his team, he immediately began to stabilize the business. The aforementioned measures at Gas and Power served as an important blueprint. SGRE announced a new platform strategy for its onshore and offshore businesses.
Standardized components and modules for onshore and offshore wind turbines are to reduce costs. At the same time, quality and delivery reliability are to increase. The company must become more competitive overall. A unified organization for manufacturing and purchasing will improve the setup and create better customer interfaces. The terms of new customer supplier contracts have improved significantly, and we expect this to bring clear progress in the future. However, it is also true that we are not satisfied with the performance of our share price. The share price almost halved from the first to the last day of the fiscal year 2022, and at the same time, the DAX also deteriorated by around 20%. Nevertheless, there's nothing to sugarcoat. This development affects all of you, dear shareholders. This was due to repeated profit warnings at SGRE, most recently, just a few weeks ago.
As a result, profit expectations fell. The good news is that the measures we have taken are working. The financial market understands the relevance, and the share price has recovered despite the recent profit warning. Yesterday, our share closed at EUR 18.62, and that is 63% more than at the end of the fiscal year. We will continue to do everything in our power to improve the operating performance of our company. First, let's take a look at our figures for fiscal year 2022. Let's start with the key financial figures. We increased order intake from EUR 33 billion to EUR 38 billion last year. This gives a new order backlog of EUR 97 billion at the end of the fiscal year. That is EUR 13 billion more than the previous year. Our order backlog is equivalent to more than three years' revenue.
We increased revenue from EUR 28.5 billion to EUR 29 billion. The currency helped us here. On a comparable basis, revenue decreased moderately by EUR 1 billion. In terms of earnings, sorry, before interest and taxes, we had to accept a loss despite all our efforts. Adjusted EBITDA was minus EUR 75 million. The loss was due to the development at SGRE. The withdrawal from Russia also had an impact. Gas and Power benefited from its competitiveness improvement program. The segment recorded a strong increase in Adjusted EBITDA. Special items resulting from the restructuring and integration costs at SGRE had a negative impact. Adjusted for these special items, earnings before interest and taxes amounted to EUR 379 million. The figure for 2021 was EUR 661 million.
After interest and taxes, the loss was EUR 647 million. In fiscal 2021, the figure was minus EUR 560 million. As a result, basic earnings per share were negative at minus EUR 0.56. By comparison, in 2021, it was minus EUR 0.63. Here's the results: the executive board and supervisory board have agreed that no dividend is to be paid this year. Accordingly, we are going to propose this to the annual general meeting. It must not and will not stop here. Our goal is clear. We want to seize the opportunities presented by the energy transition and become one of the world's leading energy technology companies, a company that is profitable and a company that pays dividends.
Because of the good performance of our Gas and Power segment, I'm optimistic about 2023. We will continue to work systematically on increasing profitability, and we will make every effort to return SGRE to profitability in the medium term. This is a challenge, and you know, there was a new, renewed profit warning on the 19th of January, and you see how challenging this is. The reason was the negative development of failure rates in specific components, and this led to higher warranty and maintenance costs. As a result, we've adjusted our expectations for Siemens Energy's full fiscal year. This, in spite or despite of very positive business developments in all other areas. It is a disappointing development for all of us. After all, we want to make Siemens Energy a profitable company overall. This made the decision to de-list SGRE all the more important.
From this point on, the SGRE team can fully concentrate on solving the operational problems and improving competitiveness. Part of being a successful company is making progress on the issue of sustainability. Our goal is to become a leader in the energy sector when it comes to environmental, social, and governance issues. For us, sustainability is the central element of our business strategy, a prerequisite for long-term corporate success. A look at our sustainability report shows that we made good progress in all fields in fiscal 2022. We reduced CO₂ emissions in our own operations by 21% compared with the previous year. Compared to the base year, 2019, we've halved our emissions. We want to make Siemens Energy completely climate neutral by 2030.
Our share of renewable eco- electricity in our own electricity consumption rose from 76% in the previous year to 90%. The current fiscal year, we aim to supply our operations entirely with renewable electricity. Indirect emissions in the upstream and downstream supply chain are also declining. Our customers were able to save 46 million metric tons of CO₂ through the use of our products compared with the previous year. We are also making progress in the area of social issues. The key topics here are inclusion and diversity. We want to increase the proportion of women in senior management positions to 25% by 2025 and to 30% by 2030. As of September 30, 2022, the figure at Gas and Power was 22%. The topic of governance.
The energy transition demands that we react quickly to changes in the market. That means our employees personally. Training, therefore, plays a strategic role. In the past fiscal year, we increased training hours by around 20% compared to 2021. On average, each employee took part in 10.3 hours of training. Our goal remains to provide our customers with the best possible support in their transformation to greater sustainability. For us, this means setting a good example and applying the highest standards. All in all, the results for fiscal year 2022 show both light and shade. We are aware of this. They are an incentive to move forward with determination and systematically exploit our business opportunities. We are now on the right track.
Now we need to initiate the second phase of our transformation to continuously create value and to increase it for you, our shareholders. The market situation makes me confident. The energy transition has the potential to become the biggest economic growth driver since industrialization. An investment requirement of EUR 50 trillion by 2030 sends a clear message. What matters now is making the energy transition a success. Five points are central from our point of view. First, expand renewable energies. By 2030, we must massively expand the share of renewable energies. In Europe and the USA by a factor of around 2, and in Asia- Pacific region by a factor of as much as 6 compared with 2021. Second, improve energy efficiency. We need to save energy wherever possible. This requires innovations if we are to successfully drive forward electrification and energy management.
Third, strengthen electricity grids. The rising share of renewables and increasing electrification require more robust grids. Fourth, use existing infrastructure as a bridge. The investments in the energy transition are substantial. Where it makes sense, we need to use existing infrastructure as a bridge. For example, using gas-fired power plants to stabilize the energy supply. At the same time, we need to gradually decarbonize it, for example, by using hydrogen instead of natural gas. Fifth, secure supply chains and minerals. More materials and minerals are needed for the energy transition. Secure access to them is the basis for a successful energy transition. A clear raw materials, commodities, and recycling strategy is therefore essential. A look at these points shows that Siemens Energy has got everything it takes to drive the energy transition forward, and that we want to and will benefit from it.
The energy transition is an important lever for increasing the value of our company. Our alignment along the entire energy value chain makes it possible. Our contribution to the respective contribution is important. Since the 1st of October 2022, this has been the responsibility of Gas Services and SGRE business areas. Gas Services comprises the gas turbine and large steam turbine businesses. SGRE covers wind energy. There's our Grid Technologies business area. It focuses on the efficient transport and storage of electricity. Finally, our activities that reduce energy consumption or greenhouse gas emissions in industrial processes bundled in the Transformation of Industry business area. On the first pillar of our setup, low-emission or zero-emission power generation. With Gas Services and SGRE, we are benefiting from the growth trend of rising electricity demand.
Global CO₂ emissions will be halved if we replace all coal-fired power plants with gas-fired power plants. This and the issue of energy security are important drivers for our Gas Services business area. We are also reducing emissions by modernizing existing plants. We were very successful with this approach in fiscal 2022, with an order intake of EUR 11.8 billion, and we see the market prospects for this business remaining stable in the coming years. One example of the shift from coal to gas is the Stuttgart Münster combined heat and power plant. In the long term, green hydrogen is to replace gas. Siemens Energy is already building the plant in such a way that it can be operated with hydrogen in the future. By doing so, we are supporting our customers, EnBW, in its goal of climate neutrality by 2035.
Wind energy plays a key role in the expansion of renewable energies. According to our forecast, the market for onshore wind turbines will remain stable until 2030. For 2030, we assume a market of 47 GWs. By way of comparison, each gigawatt can supply around 1 million households with electricity. We are the market lead in offshore wind. Here, we expect average annual growth of 28% by 2030. This corresponds to an increase of around 27 GWs in 2030. The potential here is demonstrated by the Moray West offshore wind power project off the coast of Scotland. It will be connected to the grid in 2024. SGRE is supplying 60 turbines with a rotor diameter of 222 meters. That is equivalent to the length of two soccer fields. Each of them will generate around 15 MWs of electricity.
We are not just supplying the turbines. Siemens Energy also received the order for the grid connection. This brings us to the second pillar: efficient transport and storage of electricity. The example of Moray West alone shows that the expansion of renewable energies is also a growth driver for our Grid Technologies business area. At the same time, rising global demand for electricity is playing into our hands, both require the expansion and modernization of power grids. The prospects for this business are excellent. The business figures published today for the first quarter of fiscal 2023 show this impressively. We expect the market to grow to EUR 74 billion by 2030, up from EUR 50 billion in 2021. That corresponds to a growth of 5% per year. Grid Technologies will use its leading market position to benefit from this growth.
This is also illustrated by the example of NeuConnect. In this project, we are transporting surplus wind power from Germany to the UK. We are connecting two of Europe's largest energy markets via a high-voltage line. Electricity flows in large quantities in both directions, enough to power 1.5 million households. Finally, the third pillar. Energy consumption in industrial applications. A successful energy transition also means using energy as efficiently as possible in industrial processes. This is the focus of our Transformation of Industry business area. It benefits from the trend toward increasing energy efficiency and electrification of industrial processes. One example from fiscal year 2022 is the LNG project with our customer Woodfibre in Canada. The necessary compressors for the process are operated fully electrically and supplied with green, clean electricity from hydropower.
This will enable us to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the production of liquefied gas by more than 80% compared with conventional processes. Transformation of Industry also includes our activities to generate hydrogen by electrolysis. We see great potential in this market. Together with our cooperation partner, Air Liquide, we are currently building a gigawatt-scale production facility for electrolysis units in Berlin. It will go into operation in 2023. All these examples show that Siemens Energy is making an important contribution to the energy transition and is consistently benefiting from the business opportunities that arise because our products, solutions and services are needed. In order to successfully exploit the opportunities presented by the energy transition, we must adapt as best as we can to changing boundary conditions. The Ukraine war showed us how quickly the balance between energy availability, affordability and sustainability can change.
The issue of adaptability was the basis for our new corporate structure. We presented the new structure at the Capital Markets Day in May 2022, implemented it starting in October, on the 1st of October, 2022. We have significantly reduced the number of hierarchical levels and sharpened responsibilities. We have also changed our reporting structure and created greater transparency on the capital market for our business areas. In the structure, we've also created integrated global functions. Examples of this are purchasing, IT, logistics and our project entity. These ensure synergies across the business areas, and they help to deploy resources more efficiently when the order situation fluctuates. In this way, our customers benefit from the best teams for each project, and our employees are given continuous development opportunities across the entire portfolio. Finally, we have realigned our innovation area.
If you want to shape the energy transition, you have to be innovative. 40% of the solutions that will reduce emissions to zero by 2050 are not yet ready for the market. With clear criteria, we are aligning our innovation activities to the issues of sustainability and service business. It also helps that we are increasingly bundling development activities at four innovation centers in Berlin, Orlando, Abu Dhabi and Shenzhen. In the past fiscal year, we invested EUR 1.1 billion in research and development. This spending is linked to specific business plans and financial criteria because innovation is not an end in itself. Let me give you 3 examples. One, we improved the efficiency of our largest HL-class gas turbine. This was the only reason we were able to sell 11 of them in the past fiscal year.
The order value was over EUR 1.5 billion. 2, SGRE has developed a concept to recycle rotor blades. The RecyclableBlade can be used for onshore and offshore wind turbines. RWE has installed the rotor blades for the first time in a North Sea wind farm. In fast-growing markets such as wind energy, the reuse of materials will be a key competitive advantage in the future. 3, service is an important focus for innovation. More than half of our research and development spending goes into the high-margin business. One example is the inspection of high-voltage lines using drones and image analysis with artificial intelligence. This halves the number of helicopter flights and creates added value for our customers. We are developing numerous innovations together with partners. We share the risks and reduce our expenses, and we accelerate time to market.
In 2022, we increased the number of our partnerships by 20%. This brings me to the next aspect for future value enhancement, the integration of SGRE and strengthening our wind business. Wind energy plays a central role in the energy transition. The integration of SGRE is therefore a logical next step. On the 21st of May, 2022, we announced a voluntary tender offer for all outstanding shares in Siemens Gamesa. An important factor for approval by the Spanish regulator was the purchase price of EUR 18.05 per share. We financed part of this through a mandatory convertible bond in the amount of EUR 960 million. We placed this on the 6th of September, 2022.
At the annual general meeting, we are asking you to approve agenda items 10, 11, and 12, authorizing us to carry out further capital measures. These will enable us to finance the transaction. 19th of December 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission confirmed an acceptance rate of 77.88% for the offer. As of now, we hold 97.59% of the shares in SGRE. At an extraordinary general meeting on January the 25th, 2023, the shareholders of SGRE resolved to delist the company from the Spanish stock exchange. The planned integration will allow us to better oversee the challenges at SGRE. We can simplify structures. We will reduce the number of directors, and important global group functions will cooperate more closely immediately after delisting. This will allow the management team around Jochen Eickholt to concentrate fully on operational performance.
This also means we can expect that the transaction to generate annual cost synergies of up to EUR 300 million within 3 years of full integration. We are systematically tackling the turnaround of our wind business. With the reorganization and the cash tender offer for SGRE, we have initiated the second phase of our transformation because we are convinced that this is how Siemens Energy will head towards a successful future. Ladies and gentlemen, for me and the entire Executive Board, it is important to systematically seize the opportunities presented by the energy transition. We will help our customers to master their challenges. We will further qualify and promote our employees. We will make our contribution to the environment and society, and we will increase our earnings and grow sustainably as a result.
You, our shareholders, will benefit through dividend payments and share price increases. In fiscal 2023, we will continue along this path of transformation and will continuously improve SGRE. We know that returning to profitability at SGRE will not happen overnight, but the course has been set. The task now is to implement the measures consistently and precisely. As CEO, Jochen Eickholt is exactly the right man for the job. I am confident that we will further consolidate Siemens Energy's resilience in fiscal 2023. This should lead to stronger revenue growth compared to the previous year. We expect comparable revenue growth in a range of 3%-7% in fiscal year 2023. This does not include currency translation and portfolio effects. We also expect a profit margin before special items between 1%-3%.
In addition, we anticipate a net loss on the reported level of the previous year. Nevertheless, I am convinced that Siemens Energy has a successful future ahead of it. Together with our customers, we are creating reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy concepts. Our aim is to be a reliable, profitable, and predictable investment for you, our shareholders. I and the entire executive board are committed to this, and I ask for your trust and support. Thank you very much.
Thank you very much, Dr. Bruch, for your report on a, I believe, very busy fiscal 2022, but also speaking about the great opportunities that this business still holds in the future. Ladies and gentlemen, I now get to inform you because I just received that information that apparently there were some issues with access to the shareholders portal for individual shareholders, at least temporary. I'd say we're off to a good start with this virtual format, but I do point out that Dr. Bruch's and my speeches are, of course, also made available in writing on the website. There will also be a recording of our speeches on the website should you not have been able to follow them in full. I do, of course, regret it, but at any way, this is always made available.
We do hope that all the technical issues have been resolved in the meantime. Again, ladies and gentlemen, we will now end the publicly accessible broadcast of the annual shareholders meeting. Shareholders or their proxies who wish to continue to follow the shareholders meeting must now use their password-protected internet service. You will find further information on how to access our internet service in the notice as well as in the registration documents you received