Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Siemens Energy AG, Joe Kaeser.
Dear shareholders, ladies and gentlemen, as Chairman of the Supervisory Board, I hereby open the 2026 annual general meeting of Siemens Energy AG and assume the chair in accordance with the articles of association. On behalf of the Supervisory Board and the Managing Board, I would like to welcome everyone here today in Berlin, the representatives of shareholder associations and our shareholders' custodian banks, the members of the press, and also every other invited guest. I would also like to welcome everyone watching the AGM live on the internet, and I would like to extend a special welcome to Christoph Seibel, who, as the Chairperson of the Shareholders' Council of the Siemens Family, is present here today. I've seen numerous representatives of the Siemens Family.
I'm very happy that you are present here in Berlin, the founding location of these three excellent companies, and that you've joined us today. Siemens was founded here in Berlin. It was a backyard and in a time, ladies and gentlemen, where in Silicon Valley, they didn't even have garages yet. Should you think that we can't manage, I can tell you, we can. That was a side remark. I would like to continue with the official speech. This is the first annual general meeting of Siemens Energy that our company is holding in person here in Berlin, and this is something special for us, the supervisory board and the executive board and everybody. Supervisory board, executive board are present in full today, and the annual general meeting will be certified by Mr.
Christian Steinke, Notary Public, who is also present here on the stage. Dear shareholders, ladies and gentlemen, we're meeting today in Berlin at a very successful time for Siemens Energy. Very successful. Your company has exceeded all growth and earnings expectations, and it can once again look back on a very successful fiscal year. This has not always been the case. I am of the opinion that this is the result of one of the most spectacular and successful turnarounds in the history of the DAX. This is all the more remarkable because we are living in a very volatile world. I would therefore like to take the opportunity to express my sincere thanks to the managing board and all employees of Siemens Energy for their outstanding work in this past fiscal year again.
However, before I go into more detail about the company's development and the work of the Supervisory Board, I must briefly mention the necessary formalities and point those out. Ladies and gentlemen, today's annual general meeting was convened in due form and time by announcement in the Federal Gazette on January 14th, 2026. The notice of convocation, including the agenda and the management's proposed resolutions, was sent to you with the invitation to the AGM. You can find it, along with the other documents required by law and additional information on our company's website for your review since the convocation. The documents are also available for viewing today at the three so-called information terminals here on site. These are located at information desk, in the passageway from the catering area to this hall and at the speaking desk.
Printed copies are also available at the so-called information desk two and at the speaking desk. The meeting room here on site is defined as the areas that are cordoned off by the entrance and exit controls and are open to the shareholders. This also includes the adjacent rooms and the smoking area. You shouldn't be smoking, it's not healthy, but if you do, we do have a smoking area. As I said, the entire annual general meeting will be broadcast live on the internet for our shareholders and other interested parties. Shareholders and their proxies can also follow the entire AGM via the password-protected internet service, regardless of whether they have registered for the AGM or not. The speeches by Mr. Bruch and myself will be recorded and made available later on the company's website.
In addition, the cameras that you can see here distributed in this room will be used to transmit the proceedings to the monitors and speakers in the meeting building and in the so-called back offices, so that at any time and everywhere, you can follow the AGM. Anyone who wishes to speak or submit motions should contact the speaking desk as early as possible. Please, as early as possible. Your contributions will be recorded electronically during the general debate and transcribed electronically into text. This enables your questions to be recorded efficiently and answers to be prepared, all of which will be reviewed by our employees in the so-called back office. The other parts of the annual general meeting will not be recorded, and there will also not be a stenographic minutes. Voting today will be conducted using mobile recording devices in the form of tablets.
You can see digitalization has started here at Siemens Energy. To vote, and this is very important, to vote, you will need a so-called AGM card, which you will have received at one of the shareholder counters in the entrance or exit area upon presentation of your admission ticket. Please keep your AGM cards safe until the voting begins, because that's where you will need them. If you still have admission tickets and have not yet received your AGM cards, please present them at one of the shareholder counters to receive your AGM cards. Only shares registered in this way, and this is important, only shares registered in this way are considered present and can participate in the voting.
Shareholders who have registered in the proper manner can also cast their votes via the password-protected internet service during the annual general meeting, until a time specified by me, as well as issue proxies and instructions. I will explain the details of the voting procedure to you after the general debate, and I will let you know in due time. If you wish to leave the annual general meeting early or if you have to, please note the information in the brochure available at the entrance and on the back of your AGM card. I would also like to ask you to refrain from taking photos or making audio recordings of the annual general meeting, and to switch off your cell phones or set them to silent mode here in the hall. That, ladies and gentlemen, concludes the formal announcements.
Dear shareholders, ladies and gentlemen, dear colleagues, we are meeting in turbulent times. In turbulent times for this AGM. The shift from value-based political norms to transactional, almost power-oriented action is not only in full swing across the Atlantic. Tensions in the Indo-Pacific region could escalate at any time. Russia's terrible war of aggression against Ukraine is already in its 5th year. Since the outbreak of the war, Siemens Energy has supported Ukraine in various ways, including donating equipment, but not only wherever it's possible. The Supervisory Board fully supports these management initiatives. It also shows that Successful entrepreneurial action enables the exercise of corporate responsibility. If you're weak as a company, you won't be able to help others. That's why it is important that economic success as the foundation of everything is highlighted.
We live in a time of a multipolar world order, and I believe it's no exaggeration to say that we even live in systemic competition. In recent years, I've often referred to a Zeitenwende, the turning of the times. It's not a term coined by me, but by a federal chancellor who coined this term, Zeitenwende, a turning point. You could also interpret this as an era of transformation if you transfer it to the enterprise transformation era. In any case, whether it's Zeitenwende or transformation, it is an era marked by increasing uncertainty. This uncertainty does not only affect societies around the world, but it also poses immense challenges, immense challenges for companies and investors. I do see the colleagues here today who represent big funds. Thank you very much for coming. We're very glad about this.
Investors are dealing with this challenge as well, not just companies. These transformational changes, ladies and gentlemen, are structural in nature. Structures change, and often in a disruptive manner. Disruptive. They place special demands on us. They disrupt things that we've gotten used to, and these conditions place special demands on management. These changes are not a new phenomenon. It's not the first time in the history of humankind that this is happening. All previous industrial revolutions, all of them have also brought about disruptive transformations, deep transformations. However, what's new is the speed and the multi-causal nature of these changes. What's also new, ladies and gentlemen, is their profound influence on market supply chains and consequently, investment decisions. Siemens Energy's management is actively addressing these issues in a solution-oriented manner because they also constitute opportunities.
This brings me to the heart of Siemens Energy's business operations. I will now report on the Supervisory Board's activities in the past financial year, and I will focus on aspects particularly relevant to today's annual general meeting. The detailed report of the Supervisory Board can be found in the 2025 annual report on pages 235-242. It's only 7 pages, but in small print. I think it's not an exaggeration to say that Siemens Energy has successfully completed its fifth year of independence. It was the best year in the company's history, young history. The company's value, the stock value, has increased significantly, and its shares generated outstanding returns.
Although this is likely fueled by widespread AI hype, the historically elevated and high-quality order backlog of EUR 146 billion ensures robust earnings power for the coming years. That's good. I believe, to summarize, I hope that the representatives of the shareholders agree with me, I think we can summarize that in the past fiscal year, not only were the targets achieved, but in many areas they were also exceeded. The segments Gas Services, Grid Technologies, and Transformation of Industry improved their results even further compared to the previous year, which was already a strong year. In fiscal year 2025, these segments achieved double-digit growth rates in revenue. Double-digit growth rates, I mean, that starts with 10%.
Ladies and gentlemen, there aren't a lot of companies in this country, unfortunately, this is part and parcel of the truth as well, that currently show double-digit growth rates. We're proud of this. We're happy and grateful that these opportunities exist and are used, and that this has significantly contributed to the company's overall profitability is self-evident. Siemens Gamesa's wind power business developed as expected. As expected, the supervisory board looked at wind power business in great detail for good reasons. We also dissolved the Siemens Gamesa special committee, but we're very closely involved in this development, and we also look at the strategic orientation and the possibilities of this very important segment. I call it very important because it's about renewable energies. It's about the last remaining core competence of European companies in the area of renewable energy here in Europe.
Ladies and gentlemen. After the solar business, we should not leave the wind business to the Chinese. By fiscal year 2026, our goal is to break even and return to profitable growth in the area of wind power. It is important to stress by fiscal year 2026. Over the course of the fiscal year 2026, management is supposed to do that. Vinod is sitting next to me, so very important person. He and his team are responsible for achieving these goals. The long-term goal is clear, ladies and gentlemen. The long-term goal for wind is to achieve a double-digit operating margin, which would significantly reduce the current dilution of corporate profitability. The company's positive development is primarily thanks to its CEO, Christian Bruch, and his executive team, as well as all employees.
He guided Siemens Energy through extremely challenging times, with sound judgment, clarity, and wisdom. With a lot of patience. Despite considerable headwinds, we did just talk about wind business. Despite considerable headwinds, he put the company on the right track. The task now is to reliably achieve our ambitious medium-term goals that were mentioned and stated for 2028. The groundwork for this has been thoroughly laid. The supervisory board will continue to advise and monitor the executive board in managing the company. Monitoring management is part of the tasks that we have as a supervisory board, and we do that with a lot of commitment. This applies particularly to strategically important issues relating to the company's further development. Dear shareholders, it is obvious that Siemens Energy is benefiting from the growing global demand for energy.
Many sectors of the economy are undergoing comprehensive electrification, this trend, ladies and gentlemen, is further reinforced by digitalization and artificial intelligence, because all of these things require energy. Energy that needs to be generated and transferred, and that is the core competence of our company. The age of electrification that we've talked about for so long during the 1990s, during the turn of the century, the age of electrification, ladies and gentlemen, has truly begun. It has truly begun. At the same time, artificial intelligence's disruptive nature, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, digitalization, AI, Fourth Industrial Revolution, presents a central challenge, but also a historic opportunity for the global economy and its companies. This also applies to Siemens Energy. In recognition of this, the supervisory board has established a committee for digitalization and artificial intelligence. We were able to win over Ms.
Fei-Fei Li , a renowned expert in this area. There aren't many who are experts in this field and who know what they're doing. There are a lot of people who think they are, but there aren't that many who actually are. I'm particularly glad that she has joined us, and she supports the company, the Executive Board, and the Supervisory Board. This committee advises and monitors the Executive Board in developing and implementing the digital and AI strategy, AI for artificial intelligence. Another focus of the Supervisory Board is the increasingly relevant protection of critical infrastructure, this critical infrastructure is both physical...
I mean, we're in Berlin here. You know that there is a lot that has happened in Berlin with regard to critical infrastructure. It's a big task. It's an area of operation for Siemens Energy. We look at this as well, the physical and digital critical infrastructure. One thing is clear: in times of artificial intelligence, Siemens Energy is well-positioned. It will continue to benefit from the age of electrification. The company will carefully plan and implement its growth in this energy super cycle, as we call it. The Supervisory Board has very closely monitored these developments and will continue to do so with responsible and sound governance in the future.
Sometimes it helps when you've worked on the other side of the table for many years as CEO, because that also shows you what the things are that the Supervisory Board likes and what it doesn't, and it's good to have that knowledge. As I said, we have a close working cooperation, very in-depth, but with the required distance between the CEO heading the company and the Supervisory Board monitoring it. Ladies and gentlemen, given the very positive development, the Supervisory and Executive Boards will propose a dividend of EUR 0.70 per share for fiscal year 2025. Oh! Oh. Well, I can see the dividend is something that is taking the boredom out of this room. EUR 0.70. Cents. Not EUR 70. It's EUR 70 for 100 shares. After that clarification, let me continue with EUR 0.70 per share.
This is made possible by the early repayment of the, as we believe, problematic counter guarantee from the German government and the lifting of the dividend restriction. This dividend payment underscores the company's regained financial strength, and it represents a building block for sustainable shareholder returns. Ladies and gentlemen, after this little announcement that has been met with a lot of recognition, let me return to the concluding part of my speech. Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, your company's importance has grown considerably in recent years in terms of its size, market value, and social significance. Consequently, the scope, intensity, and complexity of the supervisory board's work have increased significantly. However, the current remuneration of the supervisory board is based on a comparison from 7 years ago. We have described this in very clear, transparent terms. You can review this on the internet site of the investor relations.
You can understand why we come to the conclusion that we come to, because for this reason, we propose, based on a renowned consulting firm's opinion that specializes in Executive and Supervisory Board remunerations, we propose a review of the remuneration of the Supervisory and Executive Board, and I think it's HKP, the company that has made this comparison. According to this analysis, the Siemens Energy Supervisory Board remuneration is currently well below the market level of comparable DAX-listed companies. Considering this, we propose an appropriate adjustment to the Supervisory Board remuneration in item 7 of this year's agenda, which we ask you to approve today. We are aware of the fact that in percentage points, this adjustment is considerable, but we looked at 39 DAX companies that we compared ourselves to, and we believe that it is appropriate in this context.
You can find, as I already said, detailed information on the proposed adjustments in the annual shareholder meetings notice and in the corporate governance presentation on the AGM website at www.siemens-energy.com/agm. Dear shareholders, ladies and gentlemen, we are living in uncertain times. I think we can state this clearly. The coming years will be decisive for all of us. Now is the time to set the right course. Your company, Siemens Energy, has also gone through difficult times. It emerged stronger from these difficult times. This is, of course, also linked to the excellent market environment in which we operate. The energy super cycle will continue to drive sales growth, profitability, and employment, and that's very important, employment as well for many years to come. These are very promising prospects for the company's future. We are ready.
As I said, I'd like to repeat this again, this is owed in a big extent to the strength of Siemens Energy's people, and this is the executive board and its strong Team Purple. You can see Team Purple, they create identity, and the executive board and its strong Team Purple have steered the company safely through all challenges thus far. Having this team with us, we move into the coming years, and that gives us confidence for the future. At the same time, we must never forget that the customer satisfaction and the partner performance are important, very important foundations for our success.
Dear shareholders, all of you who have been with us for so many years, the representatives of the media, the professional funds, thank you very much for your trust and occasionally your patience for the time that you are giving us when we approach you with a request for dialogue, for advice needed to improve our company, to improve the work of the Supervisory Board. Thank you for that, and thank you very much for being here today. It's a nice AGM with a lot of people I see, many of you who I remember from my active times, former colleagues of the three Siemens companies, current companies who still work for the three Siemens companies and are hopefully all shareholders as well, who have not sold the Siemens Energy share. This brings me to the end of my presentation.
You see that we're happy that you are here. I hope we will have an AGM with a lot of dialogues, a constructive AGM. Thank you very much again for your patience and also your uplifting applause with regard to the EUR 70, or at least the attempt to move towards the EUR 70. It's going to take some time, but nothing is impossible, so this might be a very long-term goal here, where Werner Siemens invented the generator and consequently the cradle for the electrification of the world. Thank you very much.
Thank you very much. With this, I would now like to give the floor to the CEO of Siemens Energy AG, Christian Bruch.
[Presentation]
[Presentation]
As you have just seen behind me, electricity is the foundation of our modern life. We're living in the age of electricity. Our everyday lives, our economy, our mobility would come to a standstill without electricity. At the same time, the demand for electricity is growing rapidly. The electrification of transport, of heating, and of the industry is advancing continuously, and the progress in artificial intelligence today, more than ever, depends largely on the question of: Is sufficient electricity available? Today, our societies are more dependent on electricity than ever before, and this makes the balance between affordability, availability, and sustainability all the more important. That is why Siemens Energy is needed, because we have the technologies, we have the products.... Above all, we have the people who build and maintain this infrastructure so that electricity flows reliably.
That is actually what it is. When we say, "We energize society," that's what we mean. With that, ladies and gentlemen, we would like to welcome you to the Siemens Energy Annual General Meeting 2026 here in Berlin. At Siemens Energy, we're now more than 100,000 employees in over 90 countries. We hold almost 19,000 patents, and we have around 50 manufacturing sites worldwide. It's on this basis that we can combine technological expertise and implementation skills, and this is also how we brought electricity to people in the past, and this is also how we are now shaping the energy infrastructure of the future. In the past year alone, we have added 23 gigawatts of installed generation capacity worldwide, which would be enough to supply a country like Poland with electricity.
We bring electricity to where it is needed, with grid infrastructure and substation. 260 GW of additional transmission capacity in 2025 alone. It's capacities for more than 1 billion people, and we also help industry reduce carbon emissions. In the process industry alone, the reductions are 37 million tons. This is the amount that our customers will avoid over the lifetime of the plants they ordered from us last year. Our story begins here in Berlin. As Joe has just said, in 1847, Werner Siemens and Johann Georg Halske founded the Telegraphen-Bauanstalt von Siemens & Halske. This company grew into what is now Siemens Energy. Our plant in the Moabit district has been synonymous with energy technology for almost 120 years. This is where our history comes to life. The picture in the background shows it.
We have been manufacturing steam turbines and generators here since 1929. Today? Today, the plant is operating at full capacity and will continue to do so for years to come. Our colleagues here work in three shifts to meet the growing global demand for electricity. One face of this achievement is Cynthia Wirth. She manages a production line at our plant in Moabit. Before we welcome Ms. Wirth here on stage, I would like to play a film from our Huttenstrasse plant.
Das ist Halle neun. This is Hall nine, and indeed, it has seen a few stories before. Best of all, day in, day out, we're working here, producing more than ever. I'm Cynthia. Let me take you on a journey, and I'm going to show you why I love this place so much.
These are ceramic heat shields in the combustion chamber. This is my specialty. First of all, it's impressive size, but what really matters is what's happening in the details. It's about tenths of a fraction, clear transitions, making sure that everything fits perfectly. This is my favorite section. We're producing ceramic components for the combustion chamber. Ceramics has always been fascinating to me. Every part is unique. It is hand-molded, burned, and then inspected. In other words, every single part has to be perfect. Some of these are produced in 3D printing. This technology makes us more flexible, and it opens entirely new opportunities. What you see here is truly teamwork in the process of making the mix of collaboration of machines and people effective, with full utilization, because the world needs our electricity. Welcome to Huttenstrasse.
Welco me, M s. Wirth.
Hello.
Hello. It's great to have you here today, and thanks for sharing this time with us. What did you bring this time?
Well, this is one of those ceramic heat shields that we're producing in our manufacturing plant at Huttenstrasse. We produce more than 50,000 of those ceramic heat shields per year, and we supply those to our customers globally.
Just now, I talked about the long history of our location here. When you arrive in the morning, how does that make you feel?
Well, it's just as impressive as standing on stage here with you today. It has always been impressive when I'm taking my stroll through our factory and when I see how this production actually works in real life, this is very impressive.
Also the sen se of pride that our employees use to produce steam turbines, all the way to the final assembly line, and then see how this comes into the shape of a final product, is just unfathomable.
Now, you changed from R&D t o production. Why?
It's true. This is for me a perspective event. It's a change of perspective for me. In the past, I worked on innovation and headed the digitization department, and I worked a lot with production colleagues at the time. And we could always see the best or the most effective solutions were created with the integration of production in the early phase. So as we were developing a new product, having production people on site has helped us immensely.
Therefore, this created a new opportunity for me to go over to the other side and see what you can do on the shop floor. Manufacturing essentially implements what our colleagues in engineering have developed. How can we improve this work? We're already collaborating really well, and we need to continue this type of collaboration because the challenges that we're now facing, like new technologies, or the large gas turbine, make it H2-Ready, is so huge. The pace at which the world develops and needs our solutions, is massive, we need to get better. We need to slim down our processes. We need to bring engineering and production together early on to reduce the friction losses and the interaction level in order to really launch a product successfully quickly.
Now, earlier when we talked, you said that diversity is very important in your team, and why is that?
Well, because I believe diversity, for me, stands for people from different walks of life, and bringing them together and making something happen. If we manage to pull that off, that people from different backgrounds, technical ones, cultural backgrounds, work together, this leads to better solutions. Now, look at me. I'm standing on the stage here together with you. Why? Because there were people who believed in me and my future perspectives, this is why diversity is ever so important. If you were to sum it up in a nutshell, what is... what would that be? What would you say is the core message of what you want to share with us?
Well, what keeps me going and motivates me in my job is that we manage to build a modern, innovative production, where technology and people are a perfect fit, which is also a motivator for the future generations to join us. Because the history that we are showing here, the history of this manufacturing plant, like many others in Germany, must be continued, but it cannot be continued without the people on board.
Well, that's a great story. Thank you very much, Ms. Wirth. Thanks for being here. Please give our regards to your entire team, and we wish you good success, and thanks for all the work that you've been doing. Dear shareholders, people like Cynthia Wirth represent what Siemens Energy is all about, people who know what matters for our customers, for global energy supply, and for your investment.
That is what our teams work for every day. Therefore, I'd like to express my sincere thanks to all of them, to all employees who make this success possible globally. One thing is clear: it needs a strong and competent team to fully exploit the opportunities of a dynamic market. Now, here are some figures to demonstrate how strongly this market is growing. In 2025, global electricity demand grew by 3%, which was faster than the historical average. Never before has so much been invested in power generation and grids as in 2025. EUR 1.3 trillion, as much as Australia's gross domestic product, and this trend is continuing. We expect that global electricity generation will grow by even more than 3% each year until 2035.
Your Siemens Energy is excellently positioned in this market, which gives us an opportunity to grow significantly faster than the market. Last year, the revenue grew by 15%. In fiscal 2025, we sold 194 gas turbines, almost twice as many as in the previous year. Also, our Grid business is benefiting. By 2035, the global power grid will almost double in size, and along with it, demand for our products will also rise, and that certainly also applies to the electrification of industrial processes. We expect demand to increase by 25% by 2035. Now, take an example like shipping. More and more customers are turning to electric drives and power storage systems. Siemens Energy already today supports a fleet of 900 ships, which is an excellent foundation for a profitable service business.
There's another trend driving demand, as we've just heard, in Joe Kaeser's speech. In 2025, the focus in the United States was on the electricity requirements of data centers. Data centers for artificial intelligence, in particular, require large amounts of electricity. By 2030, data centers are expected to consume 1,500 terawatt-hours of electricity. This is as much as the total electricity consumption of Germany and Japan combined. Today's electricity systems are not prepared for this level of increase. This is why massive investments are needed, investments that we ourselves have also made in the past fiscal year, investments in growing our manufacturing capacities. In 2025, we opened seven new factories worldwide and created 4,000 additional jobs, many of them in Europe. We will continue this expansion in 2026.
At the beginning of February, we announced a $1 billion investment program in our U.S. locations. This also includes the construction of two training centers, because we're also creating 1,500 new jobs in the United States. The American electricity market is currently growing faster than other markets, and the expansion of data centers for artificial intelligence plays an important role in this. The country needs more generation capacity and also significantly stronger power grids. We are helping to build both, and this shows you what matters most. We are investing specifically in markets where we are experiencing strong growth, and we also invest in our regional supply chains, which helps us to successfully process our order backlog.
In our grid business, for example, we source 95% of our purchasing volume locally in the regions where we manufacture. We're also continuing to expand our supply chains to avoid bottlenecks, making us more resilient. What resilience means is shown in Ukraine every day, where we see how energy supply infrastructure is being systematically destroyed. This war clearly shows that critical energy infrastructure is a prime target of military attacks. For us, this is almost unimaginable. Yet, earlier this year, for many people here in Berlin, this has become a first-hand experience of what it means, what a power outage can cause in the middle of winter, what it feels like. This blackout was caused by an attack made this painfully clear.
The lessons out of this are clear, of course, in the sense that we must better protect our energy infrastructure. We must build up redundancies. We must understand resilience as a strategic principle as well, both nationally and internationally. This is precisely where we, as Siemens Energy, can contribute products and solutions that make our power supply more resilient. It is not only attacks on critical infrastructure that shape the geopolitical environment. Raw materials also being used geopolitically. Tariffs are rising, and unfortunately, 2026, unfortunately, I must reiterate, does not promise any relief in this regard. This is precisely why we're making Siemens Energy more resilient every day. Last year, I presented our strategy for this in detail here. We have a company program, Elevate, which means reaching the next level. We're focusing on three things. Number one, we are building the transforming energy world.
We are investing in our manufacturing facilities. We're investing in our organic growth, and at the same time, we're further developing our portfolio, and we are supporting our employees. Number 2, we're enhancing resilience in a world with robust supply chains, a strong balance sheet, and greater responsiveness to external risks. Number 3, we're transforming the way we operate. We're becoming more agile, more efficient. We are creating tools with digitalization and artificial intelligence to be more transparent. We're anchoring sustainability at the heart of everything we do. Economic success and environmental responsibility are inseparably linked for us as a company. This is not always easy in a very complex world that we have to navigate every day to have a balance of affordability, sustainability, and reliability.
These are priorities in 2025 that have paid off. Siemens Energy has successfully concluded the 2025 fiscal year, despite a number of geopolitical challenges. Despite those, we have achieved all of our goals and even exceeded them. The figures truly speak for themselves. Orders of nearly EUR 59 billion, which at the end of the day, meant an order backlog at the year-end of EUR 138 billion. Revenue rose to more than EUR 39 billion. Profit before special items was significantly above the target at EUR 2.4 billion, with a margin of 6%. The free cash flow, compared to the previous year, more than doubled to almost EUR 4.7 billion. This, in turn, resulted in a net income of around EUR 1.7 billion.
The financial figures are, of course, only one dimension. The three factors that I'd like to give you that made these figures possible in the first place. Firstly, safe working. We were able to reduce the total recordable incident rate between 2023 and 2025 by 30%. That is a good result, but it's not good enough. Our goal remains zero accidents. Only a safe Siemens Energy is a successful Siemens Energy. Second, satisfied customers. Our record order backlog proves that our customers trust us. Our customer satisfaction rating, also known as the Net Promoter Score, is 62. Now, in the project-driven energy business, this is an excellent score, and it showcases our leading market position. At the same time, this score drives us to improve even further. Thirdly, motivated employees.
In 2025, employee satisfaction was nine points higher than in the previous year. This is a remarkable figure, especially if you bear in mind the high-capacity utilization with our strong order situation. A motivated team is always the basis of our success today and in the future. Therefore, once again, I would like to thank our employees, our Team Purple, for their excellent work over the past year. Thank you so much. I would also like to thank my colleagues on the Executive Board for what was an intense year spent together. I would also like to thank the Supervisory Board, headed by Joe Kaeser, for your advice and your supervision. Indeed, thank you so much for your trust and the collaboration. Safe working practices, satisfied customers, a motivated team.
These are the three elements that shaped our year in 2025 and made our success possible. That's also why we were able to strengthen our financial position. Our credit rating was upgraded by the relevant agencies. We were also able to exit the German government guarantee structure earlier. Our equity ratio has significantly increased, which also reflected in our share price. In fiscal 2025, it tripled from EUR 33.2 to EUR 99.42. For the first time since 2021, we are again proposing a dividend, EUR 0.70 per share. We're working on the euros now. What this means, it corresponds to a payout ratio of 50% of adjusted earnings after taxes. We have grown, we have become more profitable, and our shareholders are benefiting from the higher share prices and the dividend.
Now the crucial question is: How do we further increase the value of our company? What are the specific objectives for 2026? Dear shareholders, we are building the transforming energy world. We're enhancing our resilience in this world. We transform the way we operate. 2025 has shown that we are on the right track with this strategy. We will also continue to pursue this path consistently in 2026. Now, success proves us right. Since the beginning of the fiscal year, the share price increased by 71%, EUR 170 this morning. Now, for us, this is both an obligation and an incentive. We are convinced that Siemens Energy will continue to grow and will become more profitable, regardless of all the current geopolitical and economic challenges.
Our goal is clear: To achieve a leading position with our portfolio in all our markets. That is why we will continue to invest in our manufacturing and technology base in 2026. A good EUR 3.5 billion investment in our locations and in research and development speak for themselves. We're adapting our capacities to the markets, so we expand our production facilities when customer demand requires it, and on the other hand, we reduce capacities when demand is lacking, consistently and responsibly. Now, let's take onshore wind, for example. The number of our production sites has been concentrated from 10 to 4, with higher productivity, lower costs, and greater competitiveness. For you as shareholders, what this means is profitable growth step by step. We're driving efficiency and customer benefits in our company using artificial intelligence. AI and robotics are fundamentally changing our manufacturing processes.
This is shown in the video from our switchgear factory in Shanghai. Innovation is created when data and precision come together. In our Shanghai plant, you see what digitization can do. It's where robots assume assembly processes in large switchgear for the power grid. Artificial intelligence supports us to be faster and to detect aberrations early on. With this consistent digitization, we increase productivity and secure a high level of quality, which has a global effect. The technology transfer to other plants shows you how AI and automation can be transferred for better competitiveness and measurable customer benefit. Not only in manufacturing, but also in the service business, we rely on AI, which accounts for around 1/3 of our orders. Service, as you know, is particularly high margin. This business drives on consistent data and end-to-end processes.
Let me also give you an example here, for which I'm getting a turbine blade here that we're using in our gas turbines. This turbine blade is hollow inside. It's ceramically coated. It is hollow because it needs to permanently be cooled, because it faces temperatures, depending on the gas turbine, of up to 1,700 degrees centigrade. An AI-supported model now tracks those turbine blades, which heat up significantly during operation. The model then helps us to replace those blades exactly at the right time. In other words, not too early and not too late, which extends their service life, it reduces costs, and also increases the benefits for our customers. Thank you. It's quite heavy. At the same time, we are also bringing AI-based products to market for power transmission.
The power grids can not only be monitored, but can also be actively protected against threats and dangers. We increase grid utilization and provide robust power grids. At the end of the day, it means better security of supply, lower cost, a clear, measurable added value for our customers. Also, we use internally AI applications, the automation of processes, and increased efficiencies. This shows us that Siemens Energy is in excellent technological shape. At the same time, we're also improving our internal performance in the sense of providing more responsibility in the business areas and fewer coordination loops, making us faster, more agile, more efficient. All employees should be able to focus on what truly matters, namely, to grow the benefit and the satisfaction of our customers. That is our focus.
All of this will enable us to successfully pursue our goals for the 2026 fiscal year. Revenue growth of between 11%-13%, a profit margin before special items of 9%-11%, net income in the range of EUR 3 billion-EUR 4 billion, and a free cash flow of EUR 4 billion-EUR 5 billion. Our goal is for you to continue to benefit from Siemens Energy in 2026. The results for the first quarter of 2026 show that we have had a very successful start to the fiscal year. Especially the high demand for Grid Technologies and gas turbines have been a major contributor. These developments create a solid foundation for a balanced allocation of capital. At the same time, our shareholders will receive attractive returns in the form of dividends and share buybacks.
Now, as we announced, we're proposing today a dividend of EUR 0.70 per share for fiscal 2025, by the end of fiscal 2028, we plan to repurchase our own shares worth of up to EUR 6 billion. All of this shows that we're using your capital effectively. We're increasing the value of the company, essentially allowing you to participate directly in the success of Siemens Energy. Dear shareholders, we have big plans for 2026. Our strategic priorities are setting the right direction. We have ambitious financial goals, we do this from a position of strength. Our operational performance is on track. Our order backlog is at a record high of EUR 146 billion.
We're looking to the future with full confidence, especially in a time that is full of global noise. Therefore, one thing is crucial: We're focusing on what matters. Not every noise is relevant, if you will, but the one signal that guides us is very clear. It is a structural shift towards electricity, towards electrification and a sustainable industry. We're excellently positioned for this. We are continuously increasing our profitability. Growth and margins go hand-in-hand for us. Efficiency, discipline, and operational excellence remain integral parts of our action. By 2028, we're aiming for annual revenue growth in the low double-digit range. At the same time, we want to achieve a profit margin before special items of 14%-16%. These goals are an expression of our confidence in the strength of our company and our strategy and our employees.
Siemens Energy is on track. We're creating value, we are growing, and you, ladies and gentlemen, will be on this journey together with us. We are energizing society to make sure that people have affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy sources at their disposal. More than 104,000 employees of Siemens Energy stand for this. Thank you very much for your trust and your support. It's great to have you here today. Thank you very much.
Yeah, lieber Christian, lieber Herr Dr. Bruch. Dear Christian, Dr. Bruch, thank you very much for this great speech. If I understand you correctly, the EUR 70 is the new target? Yeah. Anyway, thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. Dear shareholders, ladies and gentlemen, as already mentioned, the notice convening the Annual General Meeting was published in the Federal Gazette on January 14th, 2026, and has been available on the company's website since that date, together with the other documents to be submitted. The notice contains the complete agenda and the management's proposals for resolutions. No motions from shareholders to supplement the agenda have been achieved. There was a small adjustment regarding item 2 on the agenda. This was already announced in the notice of the meeting.
The reason for this is that the number of treasury shares has changed since the notice of the meeting was published. I will read out the adjusted proposal for the appropriation of the net income later. The notice of the meeting, the adjusted proposal for the appropriation of net income and the other documents... Where's the camera? Over there. Okay. Just so that I know which direction to look at. At today's Annual General Meeting are available on the company's website and can be viewed here on site at the information terminals. Printed copies are also available at information desk two and at the registration desk. You can see the registration desk over there on your left-hand side or on the left-hand side of the most of you. I would like to refer you specifically to our annual report.
There, you will find detailed explanations of many of the topics that Dr. Bruch and I have already addressed in our speeches. The annual report also contains the supervisory board report, the corporate governance statement with corporate governance reporting, the so-called non-financial group statement, the explanatory report on the disclosures, pursuant to Section 289a, Section 1, and Section 315a, Part 1 of the German Commercial Code, and the remuneration report. For an overview of the agenda and explanations of the procedure for the Annual General Meeting, I would like to refer you to the information brochure. You received this at the shareholder counters when you entered the Annual General Meeting. It is also available at the information desks.
The information brochure also contains detailed explanations on how to exercise your right to speak and how to ask questions, how to grant proxies, and how the voting procedure works today. The list of participants will be continuously updated until the end of the AGM. Shareholders and shareholder representatives can see it at the corresponding terminals located at information desk two, in the passageway from the catering area to this hall, and here at the table, where participants can request to speak. That concludes my organizational remarks for today's AGM. Ladies and gentlemen, before we move on to the general debate, I would like to ask Dr. Bruch to present his report on the development of the share capital and the acquisition and use of the company's own shares.
Thank you very much, Joe. Ladies and gentlemen, as Mr. Kaeser already announced, I would like to provide you with a short overview of the development of our share capital and the acquisition and utilization of treasury shares up until today's AGM. The mandatory convertible bond issued by Siemens Energy on the 6th of September, 2022-
It's a really long German word. Matured in September 2025. As a consequence of that, in September 2025, a total of 61,769,452 new non-par value shares were allotted to the owners of the mandatory convertible bonds by using the conditional capital provided for this purpose as early as in July 2025. In addition to that, 25,750 shares were issued to the owners of the mandatory convertible bonds who had rightfully exercised their conversion right before the bond reached maturity. As a consequence of that, the share issuance increased to a total of EUR 861,104,914 as of today. On to the development of the treasury shares.
In the last fiscal year, in the period between May 12th and June 26th, we carried out a share buyback program. As a consequence of this program, shares of the company with a worth of EUR 170 million, excluding additional acquisition costs, were bought back. The buyback program solely served the purpose of allotting shares to employees and members of the board of the company, as well as members and members of the corporate bodies of affiliated companies on the basis of a share-based remuneration scheme or employee stock ownership programs. The total amount of the Siemens Energy shares, which were transferred in the course of fiscal years, with the exclusion of the preemptive rights to employees and members of corporate bodies and affiliated companies, can be found on the displayed overviews.
These are predominantly shares that were issued in order to fulfill commitments to receive shares without stock awards. In addition to that, a limited number of Siemens Energy shares were issued on the occasion of company jubilees to long-serving employees in Germany, free of charge. Additional information about the buyback scheme can be found online on our investor relations website under the heading Share Buyback. Further additional details on the buyback program and the utilization of our treasury shares can be found in the appendix to the financial statement under item 14 and the appendix of the consolidated financial statement under item number 16. Thank you very much for your attention. This marks the end of my short presentation.
Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to announce the presence to you here today. In today's AGM, at 10:54 A.M., which was the time when the votes were recorded, out of the share capital of a total of EUR 861,104,911, subdivided into just as many non-par value shares, 861,104,914 non-par value shares. A total of 569,220,671 non-par value shares with equal number of votes were represented. This corresponds to 66.10% of the registered share capital. In addition to that, at the time when the votes were counted and additional absentee votes were represented, amounted to 1,382,349 non-par value shares.
In total, this amounts to a presence of 560,601,020 non-par value shares, which corresponds to 66.26% of the registered share capital. Now the interactive part of the session will begin. Let's start off with the general debate, where we will work our way through all the different agenda items which were submitted to you in advance. We will collect a number of questions before they will be answered. After the general Q&A session, we will vote on the individual items of the agenda. Dr. Bruch and Maria Ferraro will answer the questions on behalf of the board of managers.
Questions falling into the area of responsibility of the supervisory board and affect the supervisory board will be answered by the chairman of the supervisory board, which is me, with the approval of the board of management. If you would like to request the floor or submit a motion, please get registered as early as possible at the registration desks over there. Our colleagues over there are all already getting ready. Please bring your AGM card with you and a form that needs to be filled in if you request the floor. If you would like to submit a motion, it would be of help if you do so in writing. What's more is that, of course, you also have to present your motions already when you request the floor.
If you want to get into contact with our notary public, please let our assistants know at the registration desk as well. Right, ladies and gentlemen. We have received more than 15 requests for the floor already. We are really looking forward to a lively dialogue because we have a face-to-face meeting here today, and we are happy about the fact that this has become possible, and therefore, we can have this interactive exchange with you. I'm the chairperson of this meeting, and therefore, I also have to try to see to it that this AGM takes place within the appropriate time frame. Therefore, I also have to ensure that you will ask your questions or take the floor within an appropriate time period.
Therefore, if need be, since we have already re-received a high number of requests, according to paragraph 15 of the Articles Association, we will limit your speaking time to 10 minutes each. You know, you can say a lot, actually, within 10 minutes if you really stick to the subject matter. Please stick to the 10 minutes of speaking time allocated to you and make sure that you also express or represent potential motions. Of course, if you think that the speaking time is too short, you can ask for the floor again, we will try to make it all possible. In the interest of all the other shareholders, please try to stick to the speaking time allocated to you, because we want to make sure that everybody gets the possibility to take the floor.
Speaking and questioning time can be seen when you look at these digital clocks here at the rostrum. The time will be counted down, there will be a traffic light which will be shown to you in the typical 3 colors: green, amber, and red. After 2 minutes, 2 minutes before your speaking time expires, you will be shown an amber light, once the 10 minutes are over, you will see a red light. Please, also in the interest of the following speakers, of the following shareholders, please stick to the speaking time allocated to you. Of course, we're not going to look at every single second or minute, you know, I've got a little box here with a red switch on it, and I don't want to have to operate it because it switches off the microphone. With that, I can switch off the microphone.
Please help me so that this switch remains untouched. I think this would also help to increase the mood. In the interest of the following speakers, please stick to the speaking time of 10 minutes, and then you'll have to come to an end. Of course, if need be, we have to limit the speaking or talking time even further. This is what's being written down on my particular speaker's notes, but I hope that we will not reach such a situation because we want to have a very interactive and positive dialogue with you. Okay, off we go. Let me ask the first speaker to take the floor. The first speaker is Ingo Speich. He speaks on behalf of the Deka Investment, followed by Hendrik Schmidt of DWS, Henrik Pontzen of Union, and Dr. Malte Disselhorst of the DSW. Please already get ready.
Now, Mr. Speich, the floor is yours. This is the first statement in the course of our general debate.
Thank you very much, Mr. Kaeser. Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Ingo Speich. I represent the Deka Investment, one of the largest funds in Germany, subsidiary of the DekaBank, which belongs to the Sparkassen. It's great to be here. It's wonderful to be able to take the floor. For the first time in the history of the company, do we have the possibility to get involved in an interactive discussion with you. When I look around in this room, I'm not the only one who's happy about this face-to-face meeting, but also many other shareholders who have found their way to Berlin today.
Only due to these personal meetings is it possible to enter into an interactive dialogue, which is absolutely indispensable for the democracy that we need as shareholders. Ladies and gentlemen, once again, we are looking back at a very successful year of Siemens Energy. The share price over the last 12 months, by far, with a plus of more than 180 percentage points, was the best value in the DAX after a significant increase during the last year already. Since the crisis two and a half years ago, when Siemens had to ask for state guarantees worth EUR billions, the share price has more than increased by a factor of 20. The current quarterly figures were very strong and successful. Dr. Bruch, you managed time and again to exceed the high expectations that people in the marketplace in you.
Your management performance was outstanding, we would like to thank you most cordially for that. The separation from the mother company bears fruits. The unfavorable daughter turned out to be a gem. With regards to the share price development, it is outperforming the mother. The market capitalization of Siemens Energy amounted to EUR 16 billion. Today, it's more than EUR 140 billion which have been generated. David has turned into Goliath. A successful milestone in last fiscal year was the return of the state facilities. That, the most difficult chapter of the company's history, was brought to an ending. Dividends can still be carried out. The distribution is a very important milestone and a very important sign to us as shareholders that we've waited for such a long period of time. This distribution was more than overdue.
We need to cast a glance into the future. With a rapid increase of the share price, expectations have also increased erratically. You have to set the course for additional growth, ensure that we will be able to implement our strategy, because the performance of Siemens Energy is great. There is a great demand for energy and infrastructure the world over. You are moving from one record to the other, please make sure that you can keep the pace. The demand for gas turbines is very high, same holds true for AI developments. The gas turbines of Siemens Energy are something like the shovels in the gold rush of the nineteenth century. Without you, the great electricity demand cannot be satisfied, nobody knows how long this period will last.
In the past, time and time again, there were large oscillations in the market for gas turbines. Keep your production capacities under control. What is most important is that we work our way through the order backlog in an appropriate manner. Especially in the U.S., you're expanding your market share significantly. Due to the many AI companies, the demand for electricity will increase even more than in other regions of the world. You're active in several states. In Mississippi, you're even building up a completely new factory, but you are also saying yourself, Dr. Bruch, you can only meet the demand up until 2030 in a realistic manner, and this can only be anticipated. Everything else is speculation. The American competitors are also moving ahead, and they are in advantage because of their home run. Is Siemens Energy American enough to be able to compete?
Ladies and gentlemen, on to Siemens Gamesa, which is of great concern. You have made major progress. The losses were reduced, and you're still focusing on the break-even. You have also used the experience and built up a lot of provisions, therefore, negative surprises can be prevented from happening. In the medium run, the question is, how strong are the profit pools really? Are the margins of Gamesa from 3%-5% for the entire group? Aren't they far too limited? Other business areas of Siemens Energy have figures of 18% or 20%, Siemens Gamesa will never be able to reach these goals. You'll also have some more catching up to do with regards to the development of the product portfolio in SG 7.5. What is the orders expectations in the market?
Are you ready for it, or are you under too much competition in Germany? Do you think we should be spun off or it be listed at the stock exchange? Selling Gamesa at the current moment in time would be like selling the company below value. Don't waste any money by selling some Gamesa. Siemens Energy does not need any additional capital in the balance sheet. The opposite is the case. You have the necessary money for investment. EUR 11.8 billion are available in cash for long-term investments, and therefore, it is of the essence for us not to lose sight of the long-term developments. Dr. Bruch, where can additional acquisitions be made possible? What kind of new technologies are suitable for takeovers? Do you think more competence needs to be built up in the field of transmission?
Despite all the different enthusiasm, CO2 emissions need to be kept under control. Ghost turbines depend on fossil fuels. For reasons of climate protection, they're being put into questions several times. Investments into the future and sustainability need to go hand in hand. Only highly efficient turbines with efficient technologies make it possible to increase market shares and help us acquire new companies as part of our strategy. Ladies and gentlemen, in view of the current developments in the U.S., the question is the following: Which impact will the new changes have that the American administration introduced? This does not relate to tariffs, by the way, but it also concerns planning safety for your commitment in the U.S.
How safe are you, how secure can you be that the very high and long-term investments will not fall victim to Trump's erratic regulations and changes in the field of legislation? There were some negative surprises with regards to offshore wind. We would like to know whether over the past 12 months, ESG-related changes were brought about? If so, which ones? Is Siemens Energy still committed to the versatile guideline? We welcome the voluntary reporting during the last fiscal year based on the new CSRD standard, but we hope that more clear commitments are going to be made. We want to have a CEO climate discussion at the AGM, so that we, as shareholders, can take a vote on that, and your strategy will assume greater significance.
Thus, you will send out a very clear signal to the public, to us as investors, and to other stakeholders as well. Ladies and gentlemen, with regards to all the items on the agenda, we will give our approval, but we also ask for apart from the special payments to be made to keep an eye on the remuneration of the Board members. We at Deka Investment wish the Board of Management and the Supervisory Board every possible success for implementing their strategy. Let me emphasize once again, we are happy to see you again on the occasion of another face-to-face AGM next year. Thank you very much.
Thank you very much, Mr. Speich. 7 minutes, 59 seconds, that's the benchmark. Mr. Hendrik Schmidt from DWS.
Thank you very much, Mr. Kaeser. Well, that's quite the benchmark. Let's see whether I go beyond that. I've submitted my questions before, so I would assume they are already known, and I'll be happy to meet the speaking deadline. I think there's quite a few things we can talk about here today, and it's really a pleasure to have a room full of people here today. This is excellent. 2025, for Siemens Energy, its employees, the Executive Board, and the Supervisory Board, and us as shareholders, has been a year of progress and significantly development done. Dr. Pulcher, you have impressively talked about that in your earlier speech, and I think we can really only congratulate you and your entire team and all those of you who have made it possible to develop this company in such a way.
My great thanks go out to you for this. As far as the revenue developments are concerned, I'm not going to drill down to the details, but we're talking about EUR 138 billion of current orders. As Mr. Speich has said, this is something that you need to work from now. Those numbers really show that the structural core of this company has been significantly strengthened, and it's in excellent shape. The wind business has been mentioned a while ago. In the past year, there was a high loss that had to be posted, but the clear operational advancements or improvements that have been made, shows that the wind has turned, quite literally.
The programs for cost reduction and quality enhancements seem to work, and your operational losses have been significantly reduced. To break even in this fiscal year remains a priority for Siemens Gamesa in 2026, and we would like to wish you good success. We will be scrutinizing the development of this target, of course, as well. Another milestone last year was the capital market day, where you have made it very clear what the medium-term strategy of yours is and what ambitious targets and goals you've set yourselves. Double-digit revenue growth and operational margin of 14%-16%. Those indicators, we believe, are reflecting a clear ambition to be sustainable in your earnings power and also show you how your core business is progressing.
Again, this is also the yardstick against which you will have to be measured by the capital market. A central element of the strategic agenda is the targeted capacity enhancements in Gas Services and Grid Technologies. As long-term investors, we welcome this proactive capacity plan. At the same time, we see a risk of excessive capacities, because in a number of years, this cycle may change and demand will flatten, especially against the backdrop of an unprecedented volatile cycle in the turbine business, with a boom and bust pattern in the past years, and with a growing electricity demand of data centers is just a special factor. Therefore, the trend may collapse very soon.
Therefore, and you know that better than us, the potential situation of stranded assets if your capacities cannot be flexibly adjusted. It would be our expectations for you as the Executive Board, to be more flexible, have production up, ramp up, so matched with the incoming orders, and also robust contractual clauses to strengthen your business. That will provide to security to all of us to continue the business in the long term, sustainably. The much better balance sheet has been mentioned, and the early repayment of the security guarantee is something we welcome also. Along the lines of the capital allocation strategy, you talked about the share buyback program, the dividend payment of EUR 0.70 is very important. It's a testament to the profitability and trust of the company.
Mr. Kaeser, let's see how we go from there. For us, as far as the business development of Siemens Energy is concerned, we have the following questions. First, on Gamesa. In the past, the executive board has said that there will be a double-digit operational margin in order for Gamesa to stay part of the larger company. How much time do you give Gamesa to achieve its goal? When can management report on the achievement and non-achievement of such a goal? How does the executive board respond to the public demand for a possible spin-off of Gamesa? What strategic and operational criteria would have to be met for such an option can be seriously considered?
As far as capacity enhancements are concerned, what would they look like in Gas Services and Grid Technologies, and not leading to excessive capacities that may happen if the boom of data centers and power grids will flatten again? What instruments do you have in order to adjust, flexibly adjust the market demand? Customer concentration, and service business and AI data centers, how do you make sure that you are less dependent on individual key accounts? Finally, Dresser-Rand and the compressor business is also on my list. Seeing the divergent final customer structures and a lack of comparability of power generation and to compressors, is there a consideration to sell the compressor Dresser-Rand business or maybe inject it into a partnership? That takes me to corporate governance.
As a long-term investor and trustee, we believe that we need this good and critical dialogue with you as the Supervisory Board Chairman, Mr. Kaeser. Since the spin-off, since 2020, we have been talking to one another, and the fact that we're here together shows you that this is very important for you as well, for all of us, this type of dialogue. Any strong corporate governance would necessitate the independence of the Supervisory Board and its committees, and upcoming elections will only occur in 2028 and 2029. Dr. Lienhard has already achieved the age limit of 75 years, as shown in your regulations. My question is, will Dr. Lienhard possibly resign from his office before 2029 in order to make a succession possible sooner?
Professor Grimm, your office ends next year. Your election in 2024 has been supported by us, but the public discussions we're having here with a potential conflict of interest and the lacking support of the large shareholder has left the general situation damaged. Ms. Grimm has also assumed additional tasks and responsibilities in addition to her role of the Council of Experts, and a professorship at the Technical University of Nuremberg, is also a member of the publishing house of Media Pioneer, and you're also an advisor to the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs. All of these additional activities not only are more time-consuming, but will a potentially significant risk of conflict of interest.
A political advisory mandate, as being a member of the co-advisory group of the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs, is not compatible with the Supervisory Board mandate of Siemens Energy, we believe. Now, in its own regulations, Siemens Energy Supervisory Board has already mentioned that a conflict of interest will lead to clear consequences, and those rules are not abstract, but are specific or concrete. Otherwise, you're losing the credibility of you're not applying your rules and regulations accordingly. Therefore, we expect a prompt resolution of the conflict of interest by either quitting one or the other mandate in order to follow the recommendations and specifications of the rules of procedure of the Supervisory Board. Now, it is not clear whether these have to be coordinated with the Nomination Committee or the head of the Supervisory Committee.
The rules of procedure only say that a potential conversation of the member concerned is only necessitated if the professional activities of a supervisory board member will change significantly. Mr. Kaeser, have you ever talked to the member in question, and will Ms. Grimm retain her mandate until the AGM next year, or will she resign her office earlier than that? I have 50 seconds left on my watch here. I have a question on qualification and skills. Maybe we'll talk about that later, but board remuneration is something I would like to touch on, please. The guarantee of the federal government has helped the company in a critical phase. It stabilized the company, and the fact that we have a company today, as we have said, Mr.
Kaeser, that is an international competitor, and it's a very important, a key factor in the time of transformation. We're very happy about this, I should add. The fact that the company managed to stop the dividend limitation by the Budget Committee of the Parliament in July 2025 has been a very good new piece of very good news. You also ended the prohibition of variable compensation to the board members. This early repayment of the security guarantee and the savings, because we're not paying those fees anymore, so those are mentioned on page 263 of the financial statement, a triple amount of EUR million. Can we know more details?
What is it that you are saving in 2025, the fees that will not be paid? With the early repayment in June, the board now has acquired the right of an early exit component. All members of the board in total have received about EUR 13 million. It's understandable that the one-time increase of 400%, as shown on page 260 of the annual report of 2027, would be considered to be more than generous, and the press has been critically reporting about that executive compensation. That is, we assume that these performance indicators must come with ambitious targets, and that is certainly a necessity. In other words, what requirements have to be met for board members to receive this unusually high compensation? Finally, the Supervisory Board compensation.
You're suggesting a proposal here today. You are saying that, since the spin-off, no adjustment has been made to Supervisory Board compensation, and there's no market comparability. The different parameters that you're providing include employees, revenues, market capitalization. The shareholders have obviously been very happy about the positive development of the share price three years ago, a comparison would have yielded different results, of course. The proposal you are making today will be approved by us. However, we believe this is hitting a wall here for the time being, and we think there would have been different ways to design this compensation scheme. For instance, at least on the shareholder side, a self-commitment to acquire shares would have been desirable.
Could you tell us whether such a self-commitment has been discussed on the supervisory board, on the acquisition of shares? Apparently, the result, if there has been such a discussion, was negative. Did you talk about such a voluntary self-commitment? I have a question for Mr. Rebellius. You're still a board member of the Siemens AG, and you're a member of the supervisory board of Siemens Energy. Neither the compensation system of the former parent company, nor the rules of procedure of the sister company are saying anything about any payments being offset. What are the rules of your compensation for the two offices, and what rules will be applicable going forward from the time that Mr. Rebellius will not be on the board of Siemens AG anymore? I'm coming to the end here.
Ladies and gentlemen, Siemens Energy is standing on firm feet. The problems at Siemens Gamesa seem to be under control. There are no acute problems in the supply chain. The federal guarantee has been paid back. The executive board is happy to receive more compensation. Supervisory board also. We are receiving a dividend. The share price is at an unprecedented level. All of that instills positive confidence in us. Therefore, the company has to be in robust shape. All we can say on behalf of the shareholders, we can wish all of you, all employees, good success. Hopefully, shareholders will be looking forward to a very convincing and positive share development. Thank you very much.
Vielen dank, Herr Schmidt.
Thank you very much, Mr. Schmidt. The average of the first two speakers is just above the limit that I specified before. Next speaker is Mr. Pontzen from Union Investment, to be followed by Malte Disselhorst from DSW.
Ladies and gentlemen, I'm Henrik Pontzen. I'm the portfolio management officer of Union Investment on sustainability and governance. We are the investment company of the Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken. The cooperative banks are one of the large shareholders of Siemens Energy. We have 6 million investors whose interests we represent. First off, it really is great to be here in Berlin. This is the first in-person AGM by Siemens Energy. This is a very strong signal for share culture and democracy in Germany. This direct dialogue cannot be replaced by any video screen, especially in times of transformation.
Especially in these times of a transformation, we need personal exchange more than ever. Siemens Energy at the moment is the benchmark of it all in the DAX. More than 200% of share price increase in the last 12 months are just sensational. 2023 saw the share price plummeting to EUR 6.40. That's taken care of, cut and dried. Siemens Energy, from a turnaround company, has become a DAX champion. The repayment of the state guarantees and the dividend payments are the well-deserved reward for this tough way. We're investing incredible transformation, so we're seeking out companies that have ambitious goals and pursue them reliably. Siemens Energy symbolizes credible transformation as a pacemaker of the global energy transition, as an important factor for the energy sovereignty of Europe.
Part of the truth is also that while the business with gas turbines is going through the roof, the wind business continues to be in the red. The energy transition can only be successful if it is profitable. The operational turnaround of Siemens Gamesa, therefore, finally, has to be completed sooner rather than later to make sure that the break-even is achieved. Currently, we do not see the necessity of a spin-off. The wind business is part and parcel of Siemens Energy. As you've said, you are energized here. You are also involved in the winds of our time, this should be continued. You need reliable transformation. We need, you need to deliver. Credible transformation, however, also means genuine ambition, it's not compatible with your climate targets to be watered down recently.
We understand this is a direct impact or consequence of your full order books in the Gas Services segment, but make use of this financial results in order to bring wind power back into the profits and to targeting your climate goals. The long-term ones have to be clearly defined and have to be tracked consistently. Any aspirations or mere aspirations are not good for climate action. Not good enough. We need a binding net zero target beyond 2030. Specific, more specific means better. Here's my question: When will you come up with a binding net zero target which goes beyond a mere aspiration? It's only that binding nature that makes the transformation for the capital market credible.
Alongside this, the capital market sees a good story if the market understands it right away. The Transformation of Industry segment, from the investor's point of view, remains a black box. Mr. Bruch, Mr. Kaeser, a more simple, a more focused corporate structure, we believe, would be meaningful steps for making sure that the valuation gap to GE Vernova can be closed. More specific, more transparent, it's better for share price development as well. Credibility also means to call a spade a spade when you talk about risks. The supply chain is only as strong as its weakest link, be it rare earths from China or price volatility in commodities. What is the long-term hedging of Siemens Energy vis-à-vis China in order not to threaten precisely this transformation?
At the same time, you are building up the energy infrastructure of the future. How is that protected against physical sabotage and cyberattacks? When it comes to social governance, we want to see Siemens Energy prevail. In the U.S., you have axed diversity targets. Why did you do that? All the legal risks have not materialized yet. We're in favor of long-term risk management, of course, but we would like to warn you against preemptive decisions versus perceived political pressure. Those who want to lead by conviction must not cave in when the wind blows in their face. Solid government is the foundation for transformation. We appreciate your work, Ms. Ferraro, and your work, Mr. Holt, but your contract will expire next year, so good succession planning would start early on. Mr.
Kaeser, this was one of your core tasks. How do you make sure that long-term and prospective succession planning of those two key positions is in place? That takes me to Supervisory Board compensation under agenda item number 7. The increase of your remuneration is supported by us because you have done an outstanding job. We will make sure to monitor how this power concentration will be designed on the chairmanship level. Distributing or sharing responsibilities on multiple shoulders, it is better. We approve the activities of the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board, Mr. Bruch and Mr. Kaeser, you've stood the test of time. Now, this is about shaping and finalizing this transformation credibly with a break-even in the wind business, reduced complexity, and more binding climate action targets.
Finally, here's my most important sentence for the day: Thank you so much to all of the employees and Cynthia Wirth, who is here today, who has given a face to the workforce. Thank you very much for this idea of bringing her on stage here today. This was very correct way of appreciating what the workforce does. I'd like to end it at this. We are looking forward to the coming year. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Pontzen. I'd now like to call Mr. Disselhorst with DSW, followed by Mr. Marcus Neumann. Mr. Disselhorst, please.
Mr. Kaeser, thank you. Malte Disselhorst for DSW, German Protective Association for Shareholders. Coming here, I have to admit, I had early spring feelings. The weather is nice, I am even happier that here in Berlin today, after the hard winter, we can experience this nice AGM, a big AGM, which isn't that frequent in Berlin, and an AGM by a company that is giving us positive spring-like news, and that is very good and very joyful for shareholders. I think everybody present here can attest to that. I am glad that this is not a virtual meeting. Similar to the previous speakers, I think we can all agree on the side of the shareholders, we definitely prefer to be in a direct dialogue with you, to be able to talk to you, to see you, not just on a screen, but in person.
I think this is worth the effort, I'd be very happy if big companies like Siemens Energy could make that a rule again. I love this location, as a Berlin native, I'm also happy that you've returned to Berlin. A lot has been said in a positive way about the previous year. I don't need to repeat everything. The results are excellent. You've achieved a turnaround. You've given us a dividend for the first time. This has been possible because of the payback of the security guarantee by the state, all in all, I have to state that this was an overwhelming, extraordinary management performance. I'd like to say thank you for that. Q1 was good, the outlook that we see when listening to your forecast is also very positive. Very briefly on the early exit payments to the executive board.
To pay back the security guarantee, you as CEOs received a bonus, or as members of management, received a bonus. We think this early exit payment is okay because it liberates the company from the restrictions of the security guarantee. It gives you more leeway in many areas, so we welcome it. You might have thought about giving a type of early exit bonus, or a stay-with-us bonus to the shareholders as well, because many present here also went through dire straits, and during the times where the security guarantees were still in use, didn't have any dividends. The EUR 70 you mentioned is something that I wouldn't demand as a shareholder representative, so I'd be happy if we could move up a little bit. Maybe you can think about that next year.
A little bonus for the shareholders for the time of suffering would have made us happy. Now the yardstick is high. We achieved an all-time high yesterday, if I see this correctly. Now you have to grow into these big shoes, which is a difficult task. The order backlog is at record level, excellent. Creating the capacities, finding the employees to do this, and to master with this in a seamless way, we know this from projects and other companies, is always difficult. It's a very ambitious task. We hope that you have the fortuitous skills that you had in the past year as well. You don't have any headwinds at the moment. You have a lot of tailwind. There is no disruption of this company by AI.
Rather, the opposite is true. AI is what has driven the share price upward. I believe that you're on a good path at the moment and consequently also have the opportunity of shaping the company according to your ideas if you continue to do it as consistently as you have done so far. Some concrete questions. The energy turnaround in Germany requires additional energy supplied by gas turbines. I haven't heard a lot about the German business when it comes to that. Can you elaborate on the situation? What are the expectations that you have with regard to the German and European markets? You massively invest in the American market with $1 billion. This means that despite all of the political risks, you believe this market to grow and develop positively. Question: Are these investments intended for the American market? Are you producing for the USA?
How do you hedge in this market against currency risks? The development of the dollar was quite drastic last year. The value of the dollar fell more than expected. How do you control currency risks? Is this investment caving into the American MAGA policy, or are there other reasons for it that you could still explain a little bit? Europe continues to be the strongest market. I have the impression that something is changing now that you invest so heavily in the United States. As a Berlin native, I'd like to know what you think about the sites in Germany. I think it's great that you presented the Berlin factory to us.
I thought it was great how your guest presented the site, what are the conditions in Berlin and in Germany that you need in order to increase your investments here? The Federal Chancellor is also visiting Siemens Energy today, he's not here. He's in China, in one of your facilities. I heard that on the radio. I'm glad that you're here with us. This was definitely the appointment that was planned early. China is a region that last year and during Q1 has decreasing orders or declining orders. Maybe you can tell us how do you see that market? Do you see more risks? The number of orders seems to attest to that, as a supplier, China is an important partner for you. How do you ensure your supply chains?
What about the raw materials, the rare earths and other material from China? How do you diversify? How do you hedge yourself against a potential excessive dependency on China, and how do you see the Chinese companies as competitors? I also need to say a few words on Gamesa. There was the demand by a fund, by a shareholder, to split off, Gamesa. I think his idea was that the share price could increase by 40%, or the value of the remaining company, this has happened in the meantime, without the spin-off, so I'm asking myself: Where's the potential? I believe that, first, Gamesa needs to be brought back on track. You're on the right course, but when it comes to wind power, there's still a number of problems. The last offshore tender in Germany last August didn't work well.
How do you assess the market in Europe? How do you assess the market in the United States? As far as I know, there are only three bigger offshore wind parks, some are being constructed, and you're also involved in that. Will it develop there, and what does it mean for your strategy regarding Gamesa? Is this something that is being looked at, and when will the moment arrive when you think in greater detail about that? Another question that I hardly dare to ask, in Germany, you can't even talk about this anymore: nuclear. Last year you said, or you announced, that together with Rolls-Royce, you have a cooperation, a smaller cooperation, when it comes to that, for small modular reactors.
From your technical vantage point or from the corporate vantage point, is that a future topic that you want to think about? Are there further cooperations? Will that play a role? On the agenda, very briefly, we vote against one item on the agenda, 6. That's the approval of the compensation report. This doesn't have anything to do with the amount of the compensation. We accept that it's due to the fact that this compensation report, we believe, is not transparent enough. Targets are not quite clear and are not assigned to the correct periods. Maybe we can talk about this again for next year, we will object to that item on the agenda.
We support the increase of the Supervisory Board remuneration as proposed, the appropriateness in view of the good development of the company and the obviously good cooperation between the Supervisory Board and the Executive Board, and the contribution of the Supervisory Board is given. When it comes to item on the agenda 7, we agree, as we do to all of the other items on the agenda, minus 6. Ladies and gentlemen, I want to close with thanking all employees, 104,000 employees, as I've learned today, I want to thank all of them for what they have achieved last year, what they are continuing to achieve. I'd like to say thank you to the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board.
You have really performed for us, the shareholders, I would be happy if we could announce the same next year again in a AGM in presence here in Berlin. I'd be happy abo ut that. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Disselhorst. Next, I have seen that we have 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 more requests for the floor. Please try to stick to the 10-minute time that you've been given. We need to ensure that we do this well. Marcus Neumann will be the next speaker, followed by Mr. Bolduan. Mr. Neumann, please.
Mr. Kaeser, thank you very much for giving me the floor. Markus Neumann. I speak on behalf of the SdK and the shareholders represented by us. Ladies and gentlemen, I think a lot has been said, that the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board, they also said the same thing.
The previous speakers said the same thing, that the total shareholder return is okay because of the fact that we also get a dividend again and the operational development. I don't want to break it down, cash flow, order backlog, profit, revenue, everything is nice. We're happy about this at SDK as well. We would like to subscribe to the words of thanks and specifically include the administration and the employees. We are very satisfied with what is happening here in geopolitical and increasingly difficult environment. Yes, that much on that. Siemens Gamesa is something that keeps us busy. We tend to have a different opinion than the previous speakers. I'm going to explain to you why.
We've achieved such a good result, ladies and gentlemen of the management, even though with Siemens Gamesa, we still have something pulling us down, holding us back. For 2028, we have alternative financial KPIs, the profit margin before special interests. For 2028, you're still at 3%-5%, clearly below what you are aiming at for the group as a whole and the other sectors. If you look at the investments that were made for immaterial goods and plants and factories, Siemens Gamesa was almost at the top. Almost 50% of the investments went to Siemens Gamesa. If I then look, ladies and gentlemen, at the risks, I can only recommend to look at the guarantee provisions and other provisions that almost everything is reserved for Siemens Gamesa.
Because of a more intense competition than in the other segments, we have an above-average profit expectation as opposed to the other segments, and we also have potentially high investments, and we also have potentially higher risks. All of that leads to a situation that threatens the profit of the group as a whole. We are in favor of a divestiture from Siemens Gamesa. It needs to be done in a careful way, protecting the value, but we believe that Siemens Gamesa is a burden for the profit expectations of the group, and the risk opportunity profile of the group is actually threatened by the group. Dr. Bruch and Mr. Kaeser said it correctly. Mr. Kaeser said, "We have to set the right tracks," and Dr.
Bruch, you added, "We have to create value." Both of you are right, and we, as representatives of the SdK, believe that you create value by setting the tracks to divest of Siemens Gamesa in the medium term and use the released capital in a more meaningful way, either to invest elsewhere or return it to the shareholders. The profit level of the entire group is free of Siemens Gamesa, and the performance that is achieved is better. As far as the agenda is concerned, we will agree to all items on the agenda. Mr. Kaeser, I was almost thinking about not agreeing to the remuneration of the supervisory board, because you and the deputy supervisory board chairman, with a 50% to 60% increase, you've taken a big gulp from the bottle.
I thought it was still acceptable, but it's a clear leap also, as opposed to your colleagues, the regular, quote, unquote, "colleagues." I'm going to use my 5 minutes to ask questions in a structured way.
We'll approve all the items on the agenda. Okay, fair enough. I have to take off my glasses now, because then I can read my questions much better. Question number one to the supervisory board. HKP, as we were just told, to which extent was it involved in supervising the appropriate remuneration of the supervisory board members? Which supportive measures were initiated, and who defined which particular costs? Question number two, in the reporting year, the capital cost subdivided into equity and external capital, how high were the amounts, and did we meet our goals? If not, when will this be accomplished? If so, apart from the capital costs, was additional value created in the interest of the shareholders? If so, to which extent? Question number three, in the reporting period, the capital costs of Siemens Gamesa, how high were they, subdivided into external capital and equity?
The Siemens Gamesa, did it deserve the capital allocation? If not, when will this ever happen, according to the plans of the board of management? Was additional value being created in the interest of the shareholders? If so, to which extent? Question number 4, which additional synergy potentials can be used if Siemens Gamesa stays in the entire group? What is the perspective of the board of management? Question number 5, at Siemens Gamesa, the board of management for fiscal 2028 planned and margin before special items are 3%-5%. It really deviates from the double-digit margins of all the different other business areas of the group. With wind parks, can similar margins be attained as in other entities of the group? If so, when? With which particular measures is Siemens Gamesa going to reach these goals?
If these goals cannot be achieved, will this section be spun off to another appropriate owner? If so, maybe this will be necessary because it does not really contribute to the profitability of the goals. Mr. Speich asked similar questions going into the same direction, and therefore, you know, I would like to repeat Mr. Speich's question once again. Question number six: according to the financial report, EUR 586 million in material assets and fixed assets were invested by Siemens Gamesa. How much of that was used for investments in the ramp-up of the offshore wind plants? Please tell us, in figures, what the individual items were of the investment made by Siemens Gamesa. What are the investments which are planned for Siemens Gamesa in the current fiscal year, as well as in the two years to follow?
Question number seven: provisions for guarantees of EUR 3.8 billion, EUR 2.5 billion for the segment Siemens Gamesa only. How high were the additions to provisions for guarantees of Siemens Gamesa in the reporting period? Question number eight: provisions for pending losses and risks amounted to EUR 1.3 billion. EUR 1 billion reserved for Siemens Gamesa out of this. How high were the additions for provision for pending losses and risks for the segment Siemens Gamesa in the last fiscal year? Now there is one additional question that I would like to add, one last question. I'm still okay with my time. In the supervisory board report, I read that comprehensive venture capital activities have been envisaged, but I did not find any further details in the report. Could you please specify that? My question is: How high is the amount for these particular activities?
Over which particular measures did Siemens contribute to that? What are the segments of the individual activities that the group is committed to? Who in the Board of Management is responsible for venture capital within the group? 30 seconds are left. Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen, for your attention. I wish you all the best. Keep on being successful, and Mr. Kaeser, embark on the right path. Create additional value for the stakeholders. Thank you s o much.
Thank you very much, Mr. Neumann. This was a contribution by a shareholder speaking up for shareholder value. I think that's great, because in the second round of speeches, we will probably embark on a slightly different path by looking at things from a slightly different angle. This goes to show that dialogue is of the essence, you see.
From the shareholder to the stakeholder, from responsibility to profit to sustainability, all these different topics need to be addressed because they're of utmost significance, because they also reflect the situation that managers are in, because we always have to try to embark on the right strategy in order to reach for the right goals to the satisfaction of everyone. It doesn't work that way. I'm happy that I don't have that job anymore. Thanks very much for your contributions, and over to Mr. Bolduan. Where is he? There he is. Mr. Bolduan, please.
Dear investors and shareholders, dear employee shareholders, Dr. Bruch, Dr. Kaeser. My name is Olaf Bolduan. I represent the shareholders association We4Siemens. We are meeting at a face-to-face meeting, and this is a wonderful first for Siemens Energy.
We are looking back at an extremely successful year 20 to 25, this AGM reflects this most strongly because we received an overview of '25 and a wonderful outlook on '26. Thank you very much, Dr. Bruch, also, thanks very much for the excellent accomplishments and the results that were achieved by the board of management, the supervisory board, and the workforce. Our employee shareholders, they have really done an outstanding world- job at this time when everything still had to be built up. Thanks to all of you in the workforce. There are three reasons to celebrate. The business development is great. The cash development is great. Energy is a favorite in the stock exchange. The share price is excellent, the workforce can look into a prosperous future. Secondly, we have a face-to-face meeting.
This format is much better for an AGM because the board of management, the shareholders, and all of us can meet. The same also holds true for our employee shareholders. We can all get together and have an exchange with each other. You, Dr. Bruch, and the board of management are present here today, and we can meet you face to face. This is hardly ever the face, and this cannot be replaced by a digital meeting. Please, try to make sure that we will continue to have these face-to-face meetings, in contrast to those who prefer to meet on the occasion of an AGM in an ivory tower. This message goes out to you, Dr. Bruch. These face-to-face meetings are excellence. Third point.
has a wonderful employee shareholder ownership programs, which is also being considered in the tax system and the remuneration scheme, this ensures that all the employees can hold shares in the company. Dr. Kaeser, this is a wonderful program that we really appreciate. You are great at implementing it. you know, I really dare say, openly and candidly, that you're doing a much better job than your colleagues do at Siemens AG. A good employee shareholder program is not a one-way street, both sides benefit from that. The employees, because they hold shares, they benefit from the program, they get additional benefits from it, but it's also in the interest of the company. In a study, it was proven that both parties benefit, so this leads to a win-win situation.
That is actually what we can experience here in this room, and it was already a success in the course of 2025. You know, enough praise. Onto my individual questions. We assess the situation of Siemens Energy as follows: the diverse position of the company really contributes to the fact that we have gone through the valley of tears successfully so in the past. Siemens Energy, according to our position, therefore, was never really problematic. Siemens Energy is a full liner and spearheads developments in the market, and supportive individual entities are helping us out if the going gets tough in some of the business areas. This goes to show that no matter what, you should give in to the demands of the capital market, asking for divestments and spin-offs. Energy requires sustainability. You know, we must not get lost in too many details.
One additional question is, how about the headcount development compared to the years 2023 and 2024, in total and in Germany in particular? Do you plan to change the portfolios, and do you envision changes in the business areas? How important are the German sites and the European sites for a long-term development? Do you plan to bring about changes with regards to the local presentation in Germany? Did you consider additional capacities in Germany for gas power plants? While taking into account the German sites that exist, we do expect that Siemens Energy has to connect them to the grid. How is the Siemens Energy setup going to work? This is a question that was asked by one of the previous speakers already. What if the going gets tough, if the demand declines, if there's no increase all the time? Another statement on wind.
We acknowledge that there is a positive development in quarter one of 2026, which has taken place. This is a very positive indication. Do you think that you will be able to reach break-even in the course of this year? If so, which additional measures will be taken in order to avoid any supply bottlenecks in the future? How about the quality in the individual sites, such as Cuxhaven? To which extent is Siemens Energy involved in the activities and investments of North Sea Offshore Conference? Auctions, are there any plans made for 2027 which will have a positive impact on you? How about the trial period of the 21-megawatt offshore turbine? When will this trial period end, and when will this turbine be sold? How about the developments in the market activities in the medium-run in onshore? Will Siemens Energy be able to come back?
How about the reduction of the Trump government in the U.S.? What impact does it have on the business activities in the U.S.A.? Which activities are taking place in the wind sector? Are there any supplies and deliveries? What are the future prospects? Will the U.S. American market collapse altogether? How about Chinese competitors? Do they enter our markets, and how you do try to live up to this harsher competition? What are the changes emerging from the political approximation to India for energy? Will this have major repercussions on sites here in Germany? Hydrogen, the cooperation with Air Liquide, does it work really well in view of the hydrogen delays in Germany? Will this market become stable in the market? In the worst case, do you have a plan B?
Your sample production in Berlin, and I was able to look at this by myself, is wonderful, but it needs to be continued, not only in Berlin, but also elsewhere, in other sites where these parts are being completed. Grid Technologies, order intake, excellent. How about your market position? Are there any considerations to change the portfolio and develop it further? Do you intend to bring about technical and regional changes? Gas Services, yes. The current capacities, do they suffice? How about the bottleneck with regards to the delivery of travels? Don't you think we'd have to think about producing these particular devices here in Germany in order to become independent from bottlenecks? Transformation of Industry, short question: How can we strengthen our position in this particular regards without taking into account that we might have to give up?
Last but not least, we wish all the employees and the managers a very successful year 2026. Indeed, it would really be wonderful if we could have another face-to-face meeting for an AGM next year. It's a wonderful location. It's a great AGM. Thanks very much for that, This is the right format for a very good shareholder culture . Thank you very much for your attention.
Thank you very much, Mr. Bolduan. We will now move on to the second round of question. The employee shareholders are now given the floor.
Can you hear me? Okay. Ladies and gentlemen, dear colleagues, my name is René Wenert. I'm speaking on behalf of the association of employee shareholders . We employee shareholders, according to the position of Siemens, are active in various different Siemens companies. For 34 years, I've been working for Siemens.
Now I'm with Siemens Energy in the power plant sector as a senior manager. We are particularly happily about this AGM, which takes place in a physical manner. This was one of our demands as representatives of the employee shareholders, and has been for many years. Siemens Energy, since last year, has really generated a top performance in all the different business areas. Thanks a lot for that. Especially Siemens Gamesa managed to improve its position in particular. Quality and supply bottlenecks became particularly important. Wind turbines are a high-tech product, and this is why they are particularly prone to problems. The improvement of the profitability situation in Siemens Gamesa shows, when we look at the financial figures, that the potential employees and managers have great capabilities of getting problems under control.
Employee satisfaction and the mood at the workplace have become much better than they used to be in the past. The management places a great emphasis on reducing work-related incidents. We, as the employee shareholders, hope that this trend will continue. The employees are looking for a stable working environment. Causa Isabella Pape. Customer satisfaction has improved, but there is one case which is of particular concern to us, which happened in Erlangen. At least, this has a negative impact on the mood. Our colleague, Isabella Pape, a works counselor, was fired without any good reasons being mentioned. She was fired immediately, and this caused a lot of concerns and upheaval in the site. Our colleagues are asking the following question: The company was asked to indicate what the reasons were for the termination, but these reasons were not given.
This is an infringement of the appropriate pieces of legislation, which might help Siemens to improve its situation and prove that it always complies with rules and regulations. Mrs. Pape was not allowed to take any action and take the floor during a works counselor meeting, and Mrs. Pape, therefore, did not attend. According to these provisions, Mrs. Pape was criticized for her behavior because it was argued that this might have been detrimental to the co mpany. What's your take on that? Let me skip some of the things which are listed here on my notes already, because, you know, I'm almost running out of time. Last year, during the AGM, there was a problem that was mentioned, and that was dust in the entire systems, but this has been mentioned by the national government.
Fine dust on the wings and fire due to flashes hitting the turbines, this is as detrimental to the lungs as asbestos, which might lead to major damages and legal disputes. What particular solutions is Siemens Gamesa working on in order to mitigate this problem, or try to minimize it? How can the wind speed and the erosions be reduced in this particular context? If we had four blades rather than three, which impact would it have? Software assumes ever-greater significance also in our company, you need a foundation based on hardware and hopefully an individual development of products. Buying additional hardware, not only from Trench, will have a negative impact on the questions of serviceability and liability, because we have to take on responsibility vis-à-vis our customers, and we'll also lose our know-how, and this also means our future.
The best example for this is the gas turbine plant in Berlin, where the additional systems were assembled. We really depend on external suppliers. This makes it more difficult to service the machines because the diversity of components has increased. There is hardly any machine which is similar to another. The external suppliers use their market position and do not always provide all the necessary information to us. This makes it even more difficult for us to ensure good service quality, with which we can actually make extra money. How can we make sure that we manufacture these critical components out of our own strength? How can we integrate these suppliers better in our services by an exchange of data? Apart from Miota, are there many other approaches to use other software packages, which is what the Siemens AG is currently doing?
Resilient in the field of grid technology and the distribution of energy. In Spain and Portugal, that's fine, or the blackout in Berlin, Lichterfelde, due to the act of sabotage on the 3rd of January 2026 was a very important signal because it has shown how vulnerable our society is. You also mentioned that in your energy resilience explained strategy, Siemens Energy should offer resilient solutions in order to prevent these attacks from happening or from limiting their repercussions. Are there any activities going on in this regard in order to offer new businesses or services? If so, which ones?
Energy supply for data centers and AI. Together with Eaton, as you have shown in the investor relations publication on the 3rd of June 2025, you're planning to develop a solution for AI and data centers that will meet all the requirements of fault-free operation. How often have you already sold this solution? How can Siemens Energy generate more business? Ultra high voltage transmission lines. We see also in the press reporting on this, however, the general notion is that China is a leader in power distribution and transmission. We know high voltage DC transmission, where Siemens has always been a leader. What is your take on this? Are we at Siemens Energy lagging behind? Is GE Vernova or others, or the Chinese that are in the lead of HVDC? Finally, hydrogen electrolysis.
The diminishing hype of hydrogen seems to suggest that not much business potential is in hydrogen. Siemens Energy is a leader in electrolyzer production. They have come up with a number of solutions. The H2-Ready turbines are also available. Their 280 megawatt plant in Emden. There is a Wunsiedel plant, which is quite nice. What is the potential for new business development globally? In the sense, has anything happened to bring hydrogen on the political agenda again, not only in Germany? The Erlangen concept is the next one. We have 7,000 employees in Erlangen. That is a very positive thing because it's a sign of Siemens Energy's success. The flip side of the coin is that office space is getting scarce. Employees are very disciplined.
Currently, office space is brimming at the seams. We need to change the situation. More office space is required. More people will come back to offices. How do you address this shortage? There is also the rumor saying that Siemens Energy employee cannot use the Erlangen sports facilities from October 26 onwards. Is this rumor true? As far as our voting is concerned, we agree with the proposals made by management. With agenda item 3 and 4, we agree to the ratification of the acts of Labor Director Tim Holt. We hope, though, that he gets a handle on the problems caused at the Erlangen office. As far as item 6 is concerned, the compensation report, we do not approve.
We believe that the compensation to the Supervisory Board members is too high in relationship to the level of salaries of the employees, and the same is true also for the Executive Board. Of course, members of the Board should be adequately compensated for the work they do towards the good of the company. However, we believe this compensation is not tantamount to the work invested. This increase is too high. Now, finally, I'd like to say this: Siemens Energy has shown an equity story that is unprecedented. Business figures are strong. There's a dividend paid out to shareholders. The growth of the share price of Siemens Energy is actually more dynamic than Siemens AG, although the market environment has been everything but perfect. Both employees and the managers and Board members have made their contribution to make this a reality.
During the past AGM, the institutional investors have been harping on the same string of bad business figures. Well, this situation has been reversed. We are out of the trough and are performing better than ever. In 2024, at the AGM, I said that it's the employees that generate profits, that none of the institutional investors responded to this. Therefore, we would like to explicitly thank all of our colleagues globally for what they have done, not only throughout the past fiscal year, but before that as well. We see a growing success now with picking up the trends in the energy infrastructure development and electricity consumption, the future bodes well. Ladies and gentlemen, the representatives of the company shareholders are interested in the long-term success. We work here. We want to continue to work for Siemens Energy.
Thank you very much for your attention. We're looking forward to your answers, and I apologize for exceeding my time allotment.
Thank you very much, Mr. Wenert. This has given us some insight into the operational details of this company. I think a break would be well-deserved to the questioners. Therefore, we take over now from the podium here and answer the questions. Then in the second round, obviously, we continue with Ms. Malatai. Now, before we continue with your questions, can I ask the members of the board to answer the questions?
Christian.
Thank you very much. I'd like to begin with the questions asked by Mr. Speich. I mean, the questions asked are very similar. I'm trying to compress them a bit, and there will be some repetition here.
You asked about the competitive situation in the United States. We've been present in the United States for more than 100 years. We have 12,000 employees, 12 locations, eight production facilities. This is also how this investment of $1 billion needs to be interpreted in that context. We believe we're in a good shape in order to pitch ourselves against American competitors. This is borne out by the fact that we have positive order income in the U.S., and we're investing a lot in existing sites, and we want to strengthen them. This is also very important to secure our supply chains. However, in our international project business, and that's somewhat different, we observe an intense support of American companies by the U.S. government.
Now, we need to focus on that going forward and understand what that means. Also, you have asked whether the margins at Gamesa, compared to other business units of Siemens Energy, are too low. Well, as you mentioned, the expected EBIT margin of 3% to 5% for 2028 is below the other ones, but for the wind business, it's realistic and ambitious for the time being. The business segment needs to prove its point and needs to show and demonstrate that it can achieve double-digit margins. I think the first focus should be on becoming profitable and then grow from there, because this type of business has fundamentally changing conditions under which it operates. It's not for us to assess the situation now or its value proposition.
Remember where the grid business was in 2020, and how people were critical about it and what the profitability was at the time? Now, this has turned around. It's premature for me to say today what's going to happen in the years to come. We will keep this under scrutiny. You also wanted to know about the order volume for the new turbine, SG7.0. The response we get from the market is a very positive one for the SG7.0, but we have a selective approach that we pursue, so we said that at the top. In other words, we're focusing on a clearly defined group of customers, and we carefully select individual projects.
In other words, we're only selling a certain volume of products, we want to see that we can also ramp up production step by step, that the quality indicators are right. Again, it would be premature to give you exact details at this point. You wanted to know whether we're more active in the German market with Siemens Gamesa or whether we leave it all to our competitors. Germany continues to be one of our home markets, this is why we have a fleet under maintenance of 4.3 GW in Germany alone. We're very active in Germany. That's what it says. For the 7.0 turbine, Germany will be one of the most important countries.
It will take a while until this manifests itself in contracts, but the first 2 contracts for this product has already been signed in projects in Germany. You have also asked about the potential spin-off, or IPO of Gamesa. I'm going to reiterate what I said before. First of all, it's about breaking even. That's our direct objective and a profit margin of 3%-5%. In the future, we will revisit these numbers in regular intervals, also, in the interest of our shareholders, and then take a strategic decision from there, what to do with Gamesa. You also asked the question about acquisitions and what technologies would be appropriate for potential acquisitions. For the portfolio development, of course, acquisitions are in order.
We are looking at two different areas. One is securing critical components and capacities in the entire supply chain. You saw that last year as we made acquisitions, and technologies to digitize and stabilize grids, electrical grids, that is. Our focus, however, at this moment, is not on large-scale acquisitions, but smaller to medium-sized transactions. Your follow-up question was about competence development in the transmission business and Grid Technologies. This is absolutely true. This is where we're looking at. We are looking to make changes and adjustments to our portfolio, which predominantly refers to digitization of the grid stabilization service, et cetera. Now, another question on planning certainty of our work in the U.S. market, how can we protect our investments against abrupt regulation and changes of the law?
Well, yes, abruptness, certainly is something we observe sometimes in the U.S., but the American market for energy technologies is largely independent of the political environment. It's a general, sustainable, and robust growth field, and this is not going to change, we believe. We also see now a very balanced market that is taking shape. It is therefore our belief that with the demand for data centers and modernization programs in the energy and industry sector, we see major business opportunities. This is also how you need to interpret our investments that we are making there, because the country has a huge demand for the renewal of grid infrastructure, and a large share of that $1 billion goes into plants that focus on grid infrastructure.
We have been deeply involved and have been have had a footprint in the United States for a long time, and we're in contact with the states, and not only the federal government, in the sense that those states are also in charge of regulation locally. In short, the answer is, yes, we can assess and justify the risk situation at the moment. Next question, you asked about the adjustments made to ESG. In the past reporting period, we have further updated our sustainability processes. The general sustainability strategy and the business model, however, have remained unchanged, and we really have to refer to that.
At the same time, our climate targets have been specified further with a clear reduction goal of -60% as part of our aim to achieve climate neutrality by 2030. Emissions that cannot be avoided will be compensated with carbon certificates. The emissions intensity for this Scope 3 emission in the usage phase will be reduced by at least 50% by 2030. Beyond that, and I think this is something you mentioned as well, with legal requirements in the U.S., individual global targets of diversity, equity, and inclusion have been adjusted without, however, giving up our ambition. Right? There's obviously different ways you can word that in order to be legally compliant. Okay, I think that was the questions that Mr. Speich has asked. Now with that, can I continue with the questions that Mr.
Schmidt has put? You asked about how much time the executive board will give to Siemens Gamesa until that double-digit margin is achieved. This is similar to what we've heard earlier from Mr. Speich. 3% to 5% of the margin by 2028 is an interim goal. We need to have more visibility about achieving a double-digit margin beyond that. We look at that in regular intervals, but I'd want to avoid a situation now where we're saying, "This is the point in time where we are going to take a final decision." No, we cannot do that because the general condition in the market is changing too quickly. No later than 2028, we really want to have visibility about achieving those margin objectives step by step. You also asked two questions on the potential spin-off of Siemens Gamesa.
What's the position of management on the public demands for a spinning off Gamesa? What strategic, financial, and operational criteria have to be met before a serious spin-off would be possible? That's something where many strategic and also financial components have to be factored in. We do this assessment not only for wind, but for all of the sectors in which we are present. I'm going to say once again, what we are focused on is now profitability of the segment. Yes, the wind business is capital-intensive and is project-based. In terms of new projects, there always have to be significant warranty arrangements that have to be provided.
For those to be provided, we have to have a serious investment-grade rating, something that Siemens Gamesa could not achieve as a standalone company as things stand now. Next one is: How does the company make sure that the capacity extension in Gas Services and Grid Technologies will not lead to excessive capacities? Well, we are focusing on growing capacities in existing plants rather than focusing on new factories. Well, there is a new factory in Mississippi, but that's the exception rather than the rule, because we're growing existing locations in order to avoid a situation where we create too many capacities. Therefore, we're focusing on capital allocation, which also is helpful to adjust those capacities flexibly, even if the market situation changes. There's a similar direction. You asked...
You asked about market changes and how the expansion can be adjusted to those, different market trends. We are aware that the capacity situation has to be critically looked at. There's also potential risk where you underinvest in capacities and leave the market to others. That shouldn't be underestimated in a period of growth. I think we are striking a good balance between those two issues. How do we see the cluster risk of customer concentration in data centers and AI? How can you make sure that we're less dependent on individual key accounts? First off, as far as electricity is concerned, I don't see a bubble in AI.
... It's my firm belief that AI will be here to stay, that electricity will be a requirement for data centers. That's reality. We're taking great care to make sure that our customer base is as broad-based as possible. In the past last quarterly call, I said AI-related orders account for a limited amount of our business. We also say that in a good environment and good projects, we can pick and choose those projects that allow us to have good visibility of risks or we can avoid risks in the first place. You asked about the future of Dresser-Rand.
Giving the different customer portfolio and the lack of strategic similarities between compressors and power generation, are there any ideas or scenarios to sell off Dresser-Rand, which is Transformation of Industry, or partner up with other players? Here, the same is true what I said before: the Executive Board is constantly monitoring existing business units. We also look at different strategic options, and the question is, are we the best owner for that segment, or would a partnership make economic and strategic sense? We've seen that already in the past years. We're always working on this. If any specific steps manifest themselves, we will communicate that. Currently, we're focusing on individual business, compressor business, sustainably and profitably. This brings me to the questions asked by Mr. Pontzen.
The question, when a binding net zero target will be presented that goes beyond mere aspiration. This is similar to the answer that I've just given. We support the Paris Agreement, but we very much focus on the Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions that we have a direct influence on, and we aim at a climate neutrality until 2030. In addition to this, we want to reduce emissions along the entire value chain. The emissions during the operating phase depend on the decisions made by our customers, and we cannot directly influence them.
If we look at it globally, we see that the energy market is clearly lagging behind the aspirations of the Paris Climate Agreement. Before this backdrop, we don't consider it trite to at least express a theoretical net zero target, even though I would wish for a consistent implementation of the climate agreement. We see other realities in the market, so we try to assess this substantially. He also mentions the dependency on China, especially with regard to rare earths and the price volatility of resources. China dominates the reprocessing of resources, a lot of the capacities. That's necessary for the energy infrastructure. We have different strategies to reduce these risks.
This includes setting up supply chains in Japan and Australia for rare earths, and with additional measures are additional qualifications, long-term agreements, and hedging to secure our prices and capacities. This reduction of risks will require time, and it will only be able to replace parts of the necessary supplies. In addition to the individual measures of companies, we also need a more global approach at the political level. Resilience is very much embedded in our material field strategies. The corporate risk and resilience management monitors the situation continuously and guarantees the availability of materials for production, for customer projects and services. The world is very interconnected, and there will always be a certain level of exposure. He also asked, how does Siemens Energy protect itself against physical sabotage and cyberattacks?
We have different ways of doing this. We have critical systems that are being protected by segmentation, i.e., the targeted separation of networks and grids against physical attacks. The cyber measures follow international standards and are in line with the relevant laws. Our products and solutions are classified according to the corresponding criticality. We will not disclose everything here because the protection of critical infrastructure is also subject to confidentiality. We do not want to give too much information to potential attackers. This brings me to Mr. or Dr. Disselhorst's questions. You want to know what the current situation of German business with additional energy from gas turbines looks like. Flexible gas turbines are able to react flexibly to fluctuations in the energy market. There are tenders in Germany.
The tendering process in Germany for these additional gas plants has to happen quickly. This is still pending so that we can plan together with our customers and make the necessary capacities available. This is all being planned, and we expect to participate in these tender processes, but the tenders need to happen, which so far hasn't happened. You also want to know what our expectations to the German and European markets are. You, I think, referred to the gas turbines specifically. In Germany and Europe, we continue to see a structurally high need of flexible generation capacity that can be regulated, and gas will play a central role in this respect to achieve the security of supply and to balance peaks in Europe.
You should never forget that we continue to have a number of coal-powered plants that have to be retrofitted or refitted to gas. We consider this to be a positive development. The biggest market is the United States. You also want to know whether the billions of investments in the United States are aimed at the American market or whether we produce for the U.S.A. there. Because of the local demand for energy technologies, we decided to invest in the United States. As long as this demand continues, the American factories will produce mostly for the local market. You also want to know whether the investments in the U.S. are caving into the U.S. policies or whether there are other reasons for this.
Let me tell you, the investments are based on the quickly growing local markets, both when it comes to energy generation and grids. The market exists, and it will continue to exist over the next years. That's the reason for our investments. You ask about Siemens Energy's investments in Germany and the conditions in Berlin and Germany needed to increase investments here. You heard this in my presentation. Germany continues to be an important location for the company. We have 28,000 people employed here, and in the years 2022 to 2025, we invested approximately EUR 1 billion in our German sites. For Germany as an economic site, we need three things: less bureaucracy, more flexibility when it comes to designing the working times, and more attractive tax frameworks. Germany is not the most attractive company.
It's expensive and approvals take too long, and we need to work on improving our productivity, and we need to do this together with our employees in Germany. We're doing it, but we have a big row to hoe if we want to continue to be successful in Germany. You also had a question regarding the Chinese market. In 2025, the Chinese market made up less than 4% of the sales of Siemens Energy. The most recent sales development shows the slight downward development of the local economy. This is connected to a devaluation of the renminbi and the increased competition of local players. You want to know whether we see more risks in China? No, at the current point in time, as we are positioned for our business, we do not see special risks in China.
You also ask, how do we secure our supply chains for important resources, the rare earths and other materials that we purchase from China? I already answered that question. Different strategies along the material groups, a more diverse basis of suppliers, new supply chains. I mentioned Japan and Australia, and I always point out that this is going to take time to set all of this up. You also want to know how we see China and China's companies as competitors. For us, China is a relevant sales market and an important production site. It also is one of the three leading markets for investments in the energy sector and the development of new energy technologies, with a broad range of interesting local energy technology companies. Before this backdrop, we continuously compete with local competitors. We are looking for the optimization of values.
We look for cooperation possibilities. We have our own innovation center in Shenzhen, in China, in order to keep pace with the local technology developments in China. You want to know how we see the wind energy market in Europe. We expect that the entire wind energy market in Europe, from 2026 until 2030, will continue to develop positively. The installed performance in Europe will increase to around 140 GW. This corresponds to an average annual growth of 6.4%. For onshore Europe, we expect 105 GW of newly installed power in the years 2026 to 2034. Offshore wind, we correspondingly expect an increase of the installed performance of around 35 GW. These are assessments that external market research companies have also made.
You want to know how we see the wind energy market in the United States. We expect the entire wind energy market in the United States to develop positively from 2026 to 2030, despite the currently continuing uncertainties, and we expect the market to grow by around 61 gigawatt over this period of time. This is an annual average growth of around 5%, market researchers in the wind sector consider this the same way. You want to know whether the offshore wind market in the United States will continue to develop and what that means for our strategy with Siemens Gamesa.
The political decision of the American administration have led to uncertainties in this area, so we expect in the near future that there will not be any new offshore projects in the United States. We currently concentrate on implementing the existing projects in the United States together with our customers. Most of the turbines for these projects have already been manufactured, and all existing agreements and treaties remain valid. As the offshore business in the United States is only a small part of our global portfolio, there are no changes for our overall strategy. You also asked about the spin-off of Siemens Gamesa. I have repeatedly answered that question already, so I consider this question answered here as well. You also asked about nuclear technology from a technical and corporate vantage point for Siemens Energy.
The decision whether I am in favor or against nuclear energy in a country is a decision taken by the country. We expect that our offers focus on components for the so-called power island, steam turbines and generators. We also supply certain parts for nuclear power plants, and we take over service tasks for our components. We have partnerships when it comes to the development of a new generation of small modular power plants, the small modular reactors. You mentioned Rolls-Royce, and we want to have a steady role as suppliers. In the second question, you asked about other corporations in the nuclear sector. In addition to the partnership with Rolls-Royce, we also work with other SMR companies, these small modular reactors from the United States.
When it comes to classic, big, nuclear power plants, we have established business relations with numerous operators at a global level. As you might have taken from the press, we follow the area of fusion energy with great interest, and we are in an exchange with different players here as well. I do think your last question on this issue has also been answered, whether nuclear technology will play a role in Siemens Energy's future strategy. Yes, as far as the conventional parts are concerned, absolutely. We think our current position is correct. I don't want to have any changes there. We're present in the cold part, not in the hot, the actual, fusion, part. That brings me to Mr.
Neumann's questions, synergy potentials of Siemens Gamesa, how big are they, and until when will you tap into them? The synergy effects were set at EUR 300 million. We continue to believe in that. EUR 200 million have already been materialized and the remaining EUR 100 million are to be achieved until the end of the financial year 2027. You and other colleagues also talked about the spin-off of Gamesa to an appropriate new owner. As I've repeatedly said, reviewing the portfolio will be a continuous process. At the current point in time, it is not the right moment. This is our clear position.
The wind business is basically very intense when it comes to capital, and it is project-based, and one important criterion is whether one independent company can give the guarantees necessary in this business. There will be an investment-grade rating that's needed here, and at the current point in time, the company cannot achieve that independently. This is along a similar vein, the question is subdivided into two questions. Whether it's necessary to have a spin-off of Gamesa to improve the results of the group as a whole. I do not agree from a mathematical point of view. I understand your math, but in the wind business, we also see essential opportunities for the future, and at this point in time, we cannot assess how this business will develop, so we have to do everything step by step.
Now, you want to know how much time Siemens Gamesa has assigned to achieve the goals for Siemens Gamesa. The main goal is the 3%-5% for financial year 2028, then in the medium term, we need to understand how to achieve a two-digit profit margin. As I've repeatedly said, we have a specific view to that. You want to know how extensive the venture capital engagement of the group is in figures. We have selective investments in strategically important areas. Goal is to set up a focused portfolio that supports our business units. Now, these are investments. You mentioned fusion. Marvel Fusion is an example for that, our Materials Solutions for additive manufacturing. These are smaller investments, and they are made by us.
I think I've answered that 2 already. I don't know why I have this question 2, but this is about minority participations in venture capital. I already mentioned Marvel Fusion, Sorat, MakerVerse, Malta Inc., Factor Energy. These are all areas of energy generation, energy storage, or enabling technologies like additive manufacturing. Essentially, they are all relevant for energy generation. Investment in MakerVerse is beneficial for all business units, so it's mostly smaller amounts or to add to our skills. You want to know who is responsible for venture capital? That's my responsibility, the responsibility of the CEO. Mr. Baldwin, where are you? Over there. You ask about personnel development for Siemens Energy in 2023 and 2024 in Germany.
As of September 30th, 2023, we employed 96,000 employees around the globe. In 2024, this figure increased to around 99,000. In Germany, as of September 30th, 2023 and 2024, we had around 26,000 employees. The increase happened after that cut-off date. He also asked about the planned changes in the portfolios and the strategy in the individual business units. We look across all different segments. No segment is left aside when we look at the portfolio. I can only repeat that our focus is not on big acquisitions, but small and medium-sized transactions. Again, the two areas that we focus on, either hedging important critical components and supply chains or expansion the grid side when it comes to digitalization and stabilization.
These are the 2 main areas that you will continue to see and we'll always communicate it when we have a concrete statement to make.
You wanted to know about the significance of the sites in Germany and Europe. 28,000 employees. As a whole, that's quite significant, and speaks for itself. In fiscal 2025, $1 billion were invested into German sites. We continue to do that. You can see that when you look at various different sites. In most of the German sites, you will find a crane in the vicinity, which is a very good sign. That also applies to all our sites in Europe, because we are saying that we want to expand existing sites as far as we can in order to use our capital as effectively and efficiently as possible. Well, changes in the local setup in Germany, I think I answered that question already. It's a continuous further development, but fundamental changes are not envisaged.
You wanted to know about the capacities for the gas power plants planned for Germany, while considering German sites first and foremost. We are in close extent with our customers. We also entered into agreements for capacities in our plants. One of the prerequisites is that the public tendering procedures happen at an early stage, and it's up to the government to get that organized. On to the next question: What happened if the significant demand will decline? Of course, we control our capacities based on the demand. One example is the situation in the U.S., as you mentioned, where with the exception of already existing sites, we only invest into sites which already exist. That is of the essence, because I'm deeply convinced that the market situation will change in the long run.
We do everything in a farsighted and careful and cautious manner, and we do think that we are flexible enough to react accordingly, depending on the situation in the market. In the next couple of years to come, we are very positive with regards to the order situation. Do you think we'll reach the break-even point in the wind energy sector, and which measures are taken in order to avoid supply bottlenecks in the future? Yes, it is our goal to reach the break-even in fiscal 2026 in the wind business. Now, let me look over to the right, to Mr. Philip. Secondly, we try to minimize risks by selecting our suppliers carefully and cautiously, which are of top quality. We try to book capacities at an early stage, and we set up our plants jointly.
A lot in this regard focuses on increased productivity. That's what our team under Vinod Philip is working very hard on. You also wanted to know more about the quality in the wind energy factories, such as in Cuxhaven. The quality in our factory is good, especially with regard to stability, standardization and transparency in our production sites. We've managed to bring about significant improvements over the last 12 months. Of course, we always want to become better and better all the time. Every quarter, also, our productivity and quality figures have gone up. This is quite encouraging. You want to know to which extent energy, Siemens Energy, is involved in the activities and investment considerations of the North Sea Offshore Conference. We were there on site.
We are in regular contact with the decision-makers in order to define the goals of the political and regulatory framework conditions. It's predominantly about the grid connection, offshore wind. We try to also stay constantly in touch with the federal government and the relevant governments in the region. You spoke about the auctions in the offshore area in 2027. This relates to the situation in Germany. The outlook is generally positive for the tendering processes in 2027. The governments in the most important markets really bank on offshore wind energy as much as they can, and they focus on auction models which are called Contracts for Difference, CFD. In the U.K., this turned out to be particularly promising, and this also helps us improve the funding possibilities for such projects.
Therefore, I assume that also in the course of 2027, the first Contracts for Difference auctions will take place in Germany, and we also assume that additional auctions will take place in the U.K., Poland, and other countries. You wanted to know about the trial period of the 21-megawatt offshore turbine. In a clearly structured process, the trial period takes place. As for how the comprehensive the turbine has been up and running for quite some time. We do our measurements, we are working on it. Everything is running according to schedule. You wanted to know about our market activities in the medium run in the onshore wind business. I already answered that one in connection to Mr. Speich's question. We're on schedule, we put an additional focus on service because this leads to very positive results.
In the first quarter, we've had a very good order intake in the international markets, such as New Zealand and also in the U.S., of course. Interestingly enough, and for the first time, we managed to sell the 7.0 in Germany once again. How about the rejection of the Trump government on our wind energy activities? You also want to know which additional wind business is currently being conducted in the U.S. Well, in the wind sector in the U.S., the market is not attractive as it is in other regions, but nevertheless, in the onshore sector, we receive more and more orders, especially with a view to repowering, the replacement of old turbines by new, more powerful turbines. We are very well-positioned in this particular regard, but there are no current projects planned for offshore.
Chinese competitors, to which extent do they have an impact on our competitive situation in the wind sector? Here, you need to differentiate between onshore and offshore. Onshore, more and more Chinese competitors become active in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and parts of Europe. In the offshore segment, the technological requirements, certification and approval processes, and the project duration are much more complex. In addition, especially in Europe, high regulatory standards need to be complied with, also in the field of cybersecurity. All in all, it is true to say that our Chinese competitors should never be underestimated, but we closely observe what's happening in the market. I think we will manage in the offshore sector to win the situation. With regards to onshore, it always depends on the market that you're in.
You wanted to know about the changes that emerged due to the political approximation with India. India is a very important market for Siemens Energy. The free trade agreement with India and the EU is very positive for Siemens Energy. We expect that stimulating activities can be granted for our business activities in the region, and this will also have a positive impact on our global production network, and we are also strengthening our corporate position in India. How about the cooperation with Air Liquide due to the delays in the field of hydrogen? Both companies pursue the same objectives, and they complement each other with a view to their strength, and this is more than decisive for the long-term extension of hydrogen activities. They are called Trailblazer Normandy at Air Liquide, and we use these projects in order to develop products and processes further.
Cooperation is really excellent with Air Liquide. At the current moment in time, we can implement projects successfully. We just have to wait and see what's going to follow, but this will very much depend on the conditions in the market, but cooperation is very good. How about the market position of Siemens Energy in the field of Grid Technologies? Electricity transformation is an area where we are actually in the lead with regards to switch devices, transformers, and grid transmission solutions. Grid Technologies plays a leading position in the world market. Do the current capacities suffice in the field of Gas Services? We're extending our capacities for turbines and components. In fiscal 2025 and 2027, our product capacities for gas turbines on average amount to 22 GW, which is approximately 30% more than in fiscal 2024.
For the years 28-30, we plan to expand our activities to 30 GW. You wonder whether a highly efficient blade production in Germany is something that we think about in order to be more independent from supply chain bottlenecks. A serious production of gas turbine blades is currently not being planned, but we secure our supply chains for these components. We invest into extending our plant in Tampa, Florida, for the production of our own blades independently. In Britain, we have taken over Capital Injection Ceramics, a manufacturer of ceramic parts for gas turbine blades, in order to be better positioned with regards to supply chains. We continue to work along these lines, but not in Germany. How about the business activities in the field of Transformation of Industry? How can our position be strengthened?
I already mentioned in my presentation that there are additional growth trends happening in the market, we will continue to work along these lines. We also try to strengthen our industrial portfolio even further with data centers, electrification, and industrial decarbonization. With a successful fund turnaround and the results of last fiscal, we managed to prove that we have a good business entity and set the right priorities. We will continuously invest into the new markets and try to strengthen our relationships to our customers. It is always true to say that we need to look at the business areas. Are we the right owners? Do we have to change the setup? Because in the industrial sector, we try to establish close relationships to our customers.
I just realized that I forgot to answer 1 of the questions of Mr. Neumann before I move on to Mr. Wenart. I'll try to answer that 1 because here it says that this question has not yet been answered. Although it takes me a little bit by surprise, nevertheless. In the wind sector, with wind parks, will you reach similar margins, if so, up until when will that be the case? With the help of which measures can Siemens Gamesa reach that particular objective? I think I mentioned this before, let me repeat once again. For fiscal 28, we plan a margin of 3%-5%, then the business entity has to prove that these double-digit margins can be achieved.
Measures are the expansion of the service sector, increase of profitability in offshore due to the industrialization of the production sites, improvement in manufacturing and project implementation, and all this falls under operational excellence and the turnaround on offshore, supported by the start of the production of the new turbines. I forgot one question of Mr. Bolduan. You asked whether there is a plan B for the model production in Berlin. I think you talk about the electrolyzer production in Berlin, don't you? When you visited the plant yourself, you saw that this is a fully automated project, and this is a really a major advantage because we can adjust ourselves in a flexible manner to the market requirements, and this relates to stronger or less strong demands. That's A and B together. On to the questions of Mr. Wenart.
You asked us about the position on the termination of the employment agreement with Mrs. Parper and the refusal that I participate in this information event. Of course, we do not want to make any public statements on HR-related topics. This helps to serve the individuals and protect them, especially if they themselves turn to the media. An AGM, as I hold the view, is not the place to discuss individual terminations of agreements, and in this particular case, a proceeding in the labor court is pending on all the legal questions will be dealt with in the judicial proceedings, and we really trust in the process by the courts and will implement the ruling accordingly. You want to know which particular solution Siemens Gamesa is working on in order to reduce the fine dust contamination in the blades?
Yes, we are aware of this problem because examinations have been submitted to us. We have tried to introduce leading-edge protection measures which aim at protecting these particular parts of the blades more efficiently in order to minimize the level of friction, and these leading-edge protection technologies are being used for our products. This was also mentioned in the second part of your question when you asked us about the speed of wind power devices, of wind park devices, and the possibility to reduce edge erosion. The speed can thus be reduced, but this also reduces the profitability and the so-called edge erosion is rather something that will be replaced with the help of leading-edge protection rather than by reducing the speed. Now, there was an additional question concerning 4 blades instead of 3 blades.
Which impact is it going to have on infrasound and birds? Birds, we don't have any wind turbines with 4 blades, therefore it doesn't really make any difference whether we have 3 or 4. That is a hypothetical question because they do not exist in reality. How can we ensure that especially critical components can be manufactured by ourselves? Whether we produce a component ourselves or if being purchased from suppliers, depends on a lot of factors, such as technological requirements, cost capacities, and strategic priorities of the respective business areas. Right now, we are very well positioned. We have strengthened our own supply chain so that we manufacture more out of our own strength, this is not part and parcel of our overarching strategy. How can suppliers be better included in our service provisions based on a better exchange of data?
We are in close and transparent exchange with our customers because we want to be able to be on a better position with regards to planning, certainty, reliability, and service. Of the standardization and formalization of data formats plays a very important role in this regard, but this is something that we work on in a very targeted manner. Next question. Apart from Nedra, which is a software platform that we use for Grid Technologies, whether any additional software suppliers are contacted by us, which is what the Siemens AG is doing? No, this is not our plan. We are an energy technology company, we try to combine hardware and software with each other. That also relates to sensors. That's a totally different business area. Are we doing anything against acts of sabotage?
I think you would like to know whether we offer products that make our infrastructure more secure. Yes, Siemens Energy offers a portfolio for the grid infrastructure. This might be physical measures, such as sensors for critical entities, as well as highly specialized cybersecurity solutions. These are part of our standard products and can also be purchased at additional services for our key accounts. I think in the future this will be a business area which will assume ever-greater significance. The energy supply solution for data centers and AI factories, how often was that sold, that we offer together with Eaton? Together with Eaton, we are involved in various different promising discussions with operators and developers of computer centers. It is our goal to come up with tailor-made and comprehensive solutions for this market, but so far, no contract has been signed.... between us, Eaton, and customers.
In the field of energy supply, which additional business activities can be used by Siemens Energy? We already offer solutions for electricity supply and connection for large computer centers with the existing portfolio, and no major adjustments have been planned in addition to that portfolio. There is an increasing demand for grid stability, but we have these technologies which are required in our portfolio already. You want to know how we assess this situation with regards to the DCHV technologies? This technology is predominantly being used in China, covering long distances, especially when big transformers are being used. This technology, therefore, nevertheless, needs to be put into the right context, due to the geographical conditions in China, long transmission routes have to be covered. This means that we have to have ultra-high voltage connections in our core markets for DCHV.
You know, you only have these extremely long words in German, don't you? That makes German so wonderful. Especially in the U.S. and in Europe, we have set ourselves different priorities. Here we put a focus on resilient grid technologies. Because you always have to ask yourselves, you know, if you have these highly performing routes, how do you maintain them? Or what happens if one of them fails? Of course, this means that in the European grid, we would rather use various different transmission cables and try to interconnect them much more effectively and efficiently, rather than focusing on small but big ultra-high voltage corridors. Therefore, apart from China, the demand is not that great for these new technologies. Now, you wanted to know more about the situation in Erlangen.
Additional office space has already been leased in order to be able to fill the gaps. We're regularly checking whether additional office rooms need to be leased. We also came up with a good regulation for a certain share of work from home and in the office. Most of our employees come to the office on Tuesday and Thursday, or they might also come to the workplace on Friday. I'm happy about every employee coming to the office. I think we owe that to our employees working for us, so we won't have a problem with too little offices. I'm happy about everybody who comes to the office from Monday to Friday, to be honest.
There was also a question about a rumor about Siemens Energy employees in Erlangen not being allowed to use the sports facilities from October 2026. Currently, we're revising the contract of Siemens AG to use that facility beyond 2026. Leaving that aside, we have a comprehensive health and fitness offer available to our employees there in Erlangen, not just that sports field. Which completes my section here in the Q&A segment. Thank you very much. That was quite a lot. It's a CEO, after all, he has to do all this work, right? Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, we will now continue to answer questions put to the supervisory board, and then Maria Ferraro will take care of questions related to financial matters. Let me start with questions asked by Mr. Schmidt.
You had a question about the supervisory board mandate of Dr. Lienhard. In the rules of procedure, we have an age limit of 75 years at the time of re-election. Specifically on Dr. Lienhard, I can say that we really appreciate his being on the supervisory board, and you as well, because you've reelected him into his position. He is playing a central part in the supervisory board. He is the lead independent director, someone who is approachable by shareholders if they believe that I myself am too closely involved in the operational business of the company. He's head of the Compensation Committee, he's a member of the Compensation Committee and the head of the new Digitization and AI Committee.
It would be a central matter, of course, to deal with his succession, and in fact, we're dealing with that in our Nominations Committee. We're currently looking into a structured continuation for the staffing of the supervisory board. For instance, his chairmanship of the Digital Committee. There is something that could be offered as an alternative, and we have colleagues who would be potentially qualified. Yes, we're dealing with the succession matters. It is my great pleasure to say that Dr. Lienhard is ready to continue his work on the board. He know how things work. He doesn't need to prove anything to anybody, really, because he's worked for ABB.
He knows this industry extremely well, and he has competence in integrating the two different benches of the company. Even if things are going really well at Siemens Energy, he knows how to reconcile the different priorities and interests, and truly is someone who is a good liaison, and has integration skills, if you will. He is very valuable to this organization. I'm really happy we have him on board. I've met many people throughout my life who in their 50s, weren't as active and performing as he is in his 70s. What I'm saying is, it's not a question of age, really.
In his function as the head of the Compensation Committee, he also helped us to develop and to shape and communicate a remuneration system where at a time when we had no remuneration paid to the executive board members. Because under the federal government scheme, we had certain mandatory requirements that made it very hard to retain good and highly qualified board members. I'd like to add that as a side remark. A second question from Mr. Schmidt, an important one as well, was about the office of Professor Grimm. I really wanted her to be on a board in that first round. Now, whether or not she is a member of the Advisory Council of the Federal Government, I found not very problematic.
Someone who is qualified and sits on a council of experts can certainly have something to say about economic affairs. She's been appointed to the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs Advisory Council. There is a certain proximity to what you may call a conflict of interest, and the assumption is justified. This is why we dealt with it. We dealt with that question in the Nomination Committee and in the Presiding Committee, and had individual contacts with Professor Grimm. First off, all formal requirements have been met to make sure that our company and also the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs can eliminate or dispel any conflicts of interest.
I mean, sometimes it's not very helpful if you're isolated or sidelined from individual talks and conversations. Therefore, at this point, we assume that Professor Grimm will not be available for a renewed position on the Supervisory Board after the next AGM. The next question would be: What is the requirement for attaining the maximum compensation, the maximum remuneration to the Executive Board members? It's a theoretical level, a maximum theoretical level, which is only applicable if all performance indicators are significantly above expectations, and I should say also above expectations that have been defined by the board today with its 2028 goals. Those really are upbeat, certainly. If that happened, there would be many happy stakeholders, and employees, investment companies.
If everything works well to the maximum level, then such a level of compensation would be well-deserved by our executives. Again, a question from Mr. Schmidt about the self-commitment to acquire Siemens Energy shares. I personally would think this is a very appropriate way to do, because board members, Supervisory Board members, should demonstrate that they work towards the common good of the company, and we discussed that earlier. There are two things that complicate this matter. Number 1, everything that is available above 10% of Supervisory Board income is subject to taxation. It's a very bureaucratic process. Secondly, the German Corporate Governance Code in Germany does not make mention of share acquisition because Supervisory Board members are supposed to be neutral. That's what the German Corporate Governance Code says.
Therefore, we didn't include that requirement. However, it doesn't mean that people can do that. Laurence Mulliez, who is the head of the Audit Committee, has done that recently. It's not ruled out. It can be done, but there's no self-commitment. Another question from Mr. Schmidt about Mr. Rebellius, because he already has the position as a member, continues to be a member of the board of Siemens AG. At the Siemens Energy AG, we do not offset any compensation between the Supervisory Board and his board position. We cannot do that. It's a different company. But the Siemens AG does that? We don't know. I mean, if you have time, maybe talk to Mr. Rebellius. I don't think they'll do that. It would be surprising if they did.
You would have to consult Siemens AG about any setting off, offsetting any compensation he receives in, on, or the other place. There was also a question asked by Mr. Pontzen about succession planning for the positions currently held by Ms. Ferraro and Mr. Holt. Board succession planning, that is. I don't really want to refer that only to those two members of the board, but to all of them. Why? Because I occasionally hear and read that Siemens Energy has one of the strongest executive team on the DAX index, and I would agree. There's some reason why people say that. In other words, for us, succession planning is an important matter in our supervisory board meetings.
Not only about keeping these people, which we're very much interested in, and then plan for succession. We cannot say in public here who we are talking about and what what is being discussed in the Supervisory Board. But rest assured, everyone who is also here today, sitting on the on the panel, have many options. They're on everybody's short list of headhunters that seek staff for other companies. I know that, in fact, because I also work as a Supervisory Board head at Daimler Trucks, and we were seeking a board member position, seeking out a board member position that we usually do with headhunters. Imagine what it says: Maria Ferraro was on their list, on that headhunter's top list as a great CFO for Daimler Trucks. So.
I looked at this headhunter and said, "Are you all right? How can you possibly think of putting Ms. Ferraro on your list?" I said, and the guy said, "Well, if you don't take her, she's going somewhere else. She's on everybody's list." I mean, I'm saying this as an off-the-cuff remark here. We have excellent people, and they have all the options in the world, therefore, we have to treat them decently, which includes respect: respect of their work, of their achievements, the recognition, the financial recognition of their work, and also, this necessitates the ongoing dialogue with all stakeholders. I mean, things may go wrong here and there in companies.
If a board member were to tell me everything is perfect, that would be someone I wouldn't trust and seek a successor for them. That was a small, you know, anecdote just before the lunch break. We had also a question by Mr. Neumann on the supervisory board compensation. The advisory company HKP, which is part of Mercer now, looked at the revenue, number of employees, and market cap of a company. They create a percentile assessment, and using this percentile, they're trying to compare that company to other DAX companies, 39, so 40 minus us. Conversely, that also means what the level of supervisory board members and also executive board members is, and that is at an average or median value.
We did that three years ago. We have noticed that our numbers are significantly lower across the DAX companies, for better or for worse. We, at the time, didn't have the time to adjust the supervisory board compensation when the executive board had to relinquish 70% of their regular payments. That's why we didn't do it at the time, and the cost for this consultancy was EUR 35,000. Of course, we could have done that ourselves, but it's always better to have an external party to look at it and who are also not affected by the consequences at the end of the day. Those were my responses to the questions asked before. Maria, please, you have the floor.
Vielen Dank, Herr Kaeser.
Thank you very much, Mr. Kaeser. Hello, everybody.
Okay, sehr geehrter Herr Spike.
Mr. Speich, you've been asking-
Siemens Energy
Whether Siemens Energy continues to commit itself to the diversity regulations or the diversity directive? Yes, Siemens Energy continues to be an open into integrating and respectful.
Speak dabei.
... continues to be committed to an open, integrated, and respectful corporate culture, and it fulfills the requirements of anti-discrimination laws, including those applicable in the United States.
Okay. Okay, ein andere Frage.
Another question.
Sehr geehrter Herr Schmidt.
Mr. Schmidt-
Die Frage nach den-
You have asked.
Schlagt blick-
You asked about-
2025.
the funds saved
Durch die forts-
Thanks to the early repayment.
Der Bundes-
of the federal government guarantee in 2025.
Die vorzeitige
In total,
Guarantee
Early termination of the back guarantee of the federal government and has led to cost savings in the mid- EUR 3-digit millions. The savings will only have an impact in the following years, in which no fees payable to the back guarantee are applicable. For the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025, those savings were low as expected.
Okay. Sehr geehrter Herr Pontzen.
Mr. Ponsen-
Sie haben gefragt, warum.
You have asked why the diversity targets in the United States have been canceled, although no legal risks so far have materialized.
Die Rechtslage ist klar.
The legal situation is clear-
Selbstverständlich.
We are, of course, following applicable legislation.
Gesetzlichen Anforderungen.
Given regulation in the United States, we have replaced the women's quota by what is called an inclusion and belonging factor, which is broader based. What is important to us is that Siemens Energy continues to commit itself to a corporate culture of integration.
Ein und held dabei.
it also follows-
Das ist einer lange wort.
which is a long word, follows all anti-discrimination legislation, including legislation in the United States. At the same time, we wanted to provide legal certainty for our employees in the United States.
Sehr geehrter Herr Dr. Disselhorst.
Doctor Disselhorst.
Sie möchten wissen.
You wanted to know how Siemens Energy protects itself against currency risks and controls those risks, especially given the exchange rate development of the US dollar in the past year.
Siemens Energy verfolgt eine konservativ-
Siemens Energy pursues a conservative and centrally controlled strategy.
Wahrungs risk.
to hedge against the currency exchange risks.
Risiken.
These are risks that are continuously monitored.
Die absicherung der artwahrten-
Hedging payments, to be expected is insured with standardized instruments.
Instrumenten, wie diverse enter meetingen.
... like foreign exchange forward transactions.
Sehr geehrter Herr Neumann, Sie fragen.
Mr. Neumann, you have asked.
Die Konzern
the capital costs of the Siemens Energy Group in the reporting year.
Nicht auf konzern-
Siemens Energy does not determine capital cost rates at group level.
Sehr geehrter Herr Neumann, Sie fragen.
Mr. Neumann-
Kapitalkosten de.
You have asked about the capital costs of Siemens Gamesa and whether these have been earned.
Gewichteten, Kapitalkosten de-
The weighted cost of capital for the Siemens Gamesa segment after taxes.
2025
... in the 2025 financial year was around 9.5%.
Hat in vergan-
The Siemens Gamesa segment posted a loss in the past financial year.
[Non-English content]
As you know. We're working on making the wind business profitable again.
[Non-English content]
Okay. Dear Mr. Neumann, you asked about the share of investments-
wie nach.
... attributable to offshore wind power
Investitionen des.
About future investments in the wind business overall.
Investitionen in Höhe-
Of the planned investments totaling EUR 6 billion in the fiscal years 2026-2028
Etwa 30.
... approximately 30% will be attributable to Siemens Gamesa.
Mein letztes fragen.
my last question.
Sehr geehrter Herr Neumann.
Dear Mr. Neumann.
Der.
You asked about the development of provisions at Siemens Gamesa.
Geschäftsjahr 2025 in Summer.
decreased by a total of around EUR 400 million in fiscal year 2025. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Maria. Ladies and gentlemen, before we move on to the second part of questions, I'm just hearing from my press head that Siemens Energy is fifth ranked in the DAX with EUR 145 million market cap. It just surpassed Allianz. Just barely, if we subtract EUR 70 for 100 shares, I think. Okay, I'm happy about this. Tomorrow, this is old news again because the market share will be 0 when people go back to work, we should keep our head low and keep working. This brings me to the second round of speakers. Ms. Marla Deiman, Ms. Reemsma, as the second speaker, please get ready, followed by Mr. Volker Schulz.
Hello, ladies and gentlemen of the board and the supervisory board, dear shareholders. My name is Marla Deiman, and I speak for the Umbrella Association of Ethical Shareholders. We have countermotions on items on the agenda two, three, and four that we presented, and I'm going to present them verbally. I am taking over the questions of two partner organizations who cannot be present themselves, and they have passed their motions to us. Despite of the escalating climate crisis, Siemens Energy continues to invest in fossil fuels and determines long-term fossil dependencies. Climate justice and human right questions remain behind one's own expectations. The combination with high dividend payouts instead of consistent transformation investments, this is not responsible from a climate political point of view and shifts the risks to the people in the Global South.
I'd like to repeat that: you shift the risks to people in the Global South. Before this backdrop, I'd like to ask two questions on two issues: your participation in the LNG Porto do Açu project in Brazil, and your activities in the Western Sahara situation that is very difficult from an international law point of view. First, the LNG project in Brazil. Siemens Energy participates in Porto do Açu, the port project, one of the biggest gas and energy projects in Latin America with GNA II, the biggest plant in Brazil was built there. Siemens Energy markets the project as a contribution to energy security, and that's why this project leads to a number of questions for us.
First, how can a fossil large-scale project with decades of runtime, how can that be brought in line with your decarbonization goal and the 1.5 degree goal? Second, which ecological and human rights risks were identified in Porto do Açu, and what are the measures derived from that? Third, what concrete economic benefit does Siemens Energy expect from this participation in Porto do Açu, and over what course of time is this benefit to be materializing? Fourth, what are the measures Siemens Energy is taking to reduce risks for mangroves, coastal systems, and local biodiversity, and were these measures checked by independent experts? Five, how high are the complete Scope 1, 2, and 5 exhausts, and there are reports on forced relocations in the environment of Porto do Açu. How do you assess them?
Which independent human rights assessments have you carried out, and what are the concrete results of those? Seventh, how often does Siemens Energy enter into a structured dialogue with the affected communities, and how are these dialogues carried out? Eighth, did Siemens Energy, over the last financial year, talk to affected communities, or does it base its opinions on statements by investors and partners? Ninth, if credible human rights violations because of the projects were to be established, what are the conditions that need to apply that Siemens Energy would be willing to retreat from Porto do Açu, and are there concrete plans, and if so, what are they?
With a view to your activities in occupied Western Sahara, the question is whether your statements concerning human rights and international law apply everywhere or only where it's easy for you. I'm speaking on behalf of Western Sahara Resource Watch, and I have a couple of questions on your projects in occupied Western Sahara. Siemens Energy is active in an area that is controlled by Morocco, but it continues to be a non-independent, self-administrative occupation. The European Court of Justice has stated that economic activities and agreements affecting the Western Sahara cannot happen without the disregard of the Sahrawi people right to self-determination.
At the AGM in 2025, you referred to a so-called non-detrimental development, and the benefits would also be available for the local communication, local population, and that the activities would have to be brought in line with the Sahrawi people. Siemens Energy seems to base itself on the concept of assumed support, but this requires that the special status of the area is recognized, and this is where the contradiction arises. Morocco continues to call Western Sahara as a southern province and does not recognize the right of self-determination. Your presentation does not apply for the legal stipulations in Western Sahara. The European Court of Justice says that the support of the Sahrawi people is necessary and no retroactive arguments of advantages.
For all current and planned activities, Siemens Energy requires the explicit consent of the Sahrawi people. As this consent is not present, and rather the opposite is true, the Sahrawi people has rejected the participation of Siemens Energy companies. Your activities are in violation of the rulings of the European Court of Justice. In the name of Western Sahara Resource Watch, I've brought the following questions: First, with regard to its activities in Western Sahara, does Siemens Energy refer to the ruling of 2024 by the European Court of Justice, the concept of assumed support? If so, is Siemens Energy of the opinion that its activities fulfills the requirements of the Court of Justice, and if so, why?
What are the concrete criteria that exist to state that a measure improves the living conditions of the Sahrawi people? Who developed these criteria, when were they determined, and who independently reviews whether they are adhered to or not? What are the measures Siemens Energy will take to ensure that its presence doesn't lead to the further establishment of an illegal occupation? The Frente POLISARIO, who was elected or who was recognized by the United Nations as the representative of the Western Sahara and has been confirmed by the European Court of Justice, has explicitly condemned the activities of Siemens Energy in this area. How does Siemens Energy plan to cooperate with the Frente POLISARIO to get the support for its activities in the Western Sahara?
On November 15th, 2020, for the Moroccan Administration for Electricity and Drinking Water, published plans of a 3 GW water connection between Dakar and Casablanca. Siemens Energy is involved. In 2025, at the AGM, you said Siemens Energy had not participated. Taghakan Arriva firms have now given the right to implement this project. Does that mean that Siemens Energy has retracted from any participation in this project, or has Siemens Energy participated unsuccessfully in the tender? In the list of the further implementation of the project, Siemens Energy was mentioned. Is there another type of participation under the leadership and responsibility of Taghakan Arriva? In November 2025, the Moroccan Power and Water Supply company, ONEE, also announced the construction of a 1,000 km ultra-high power line.
Interested clients could apply until January. Did Siemens participate in that tender, or are they planning to do so? As far as the Tiskrad project is concerned, at the AGM in 2025, it was stated that the status hadn't changed as the client didn't have an extension option for three existing wind parks. Global Energy Monitor and Global Africa reports say that the project was discontinued. Can you confirm that this project was discontinued, and if so, at what point in time and for what reasons? The questions on human rights and international law support in areas like the Western Sahara show a existing problem at Siemens Energy. With sustainable energy projects, there's also no consistent review of ecological and human rights associated risks.
The projects in Brazil and Western Sahara show that Siemens Energy promises climate protection and energy turnaround, but invests in projects that undermine these goals and are also threats for local communities. We need consistent transparency instead of human rights violations. In view of the scope of these projects and our annual questions, I would like to have explicit and clear project-related answers this year, and not just a reference to your sustainability strategy. Thank you for your attention.
Thank you very much. 10 minutes and 1 second. Nobody succeeded in doing that so far. That was very precise in your presentation. Next speaker, please.
Good afternoon, Mr. Bruch, Mr. Kaeser. Good afternoon to the rest of the management board, dear shareholders. Thank you very much for the interesting speeches. Thank you for the interesting questions and your answers.
My name is Carla Reemsma. I'm a climate activist with Fridays for Future, and when I think of AGM and Siemens, I think of my friend Helena, who six years ago, not here, but in Munich, was on the stage of Siemens AGM. Siemens Energy was still part of the parent company, and you, Mr. Kaeser, were CEO and had just gone through one of the more turbulent times of your term in office after everywhere around the country, young people protested your participation in the Adani coal mine in Australia.
Kaeser, you said you had learned from this criticism, in future, I'd like to quote, "Decisions with direct climate-relevant connection would be evaluated better." Siemens would have had the possibility to be on the right side of history. You claimed of doing this, and you continue to do this today. Mr. Bruch, you speak about shaping the energy world of tomorrow, energy super cycles, the era of electrification, and you're correct. Today, it hasn't been decided how the world of energy of tomorrow will look like. Deeply fossil powers stand up everywhere around the world. They fight for their last profits with coal, oil, and gas. On the other hand, there's the possibility of a world with wind turbines and solar installations, storage and hydrogen, where the air is clean, the water is clean, and we are independent of autocrats.
Mr. Bruch, you speak about Siemens Energy's role in this world, opportunities and possibilities, when you look at your concrete business, you again and again stand behind dirty gas power plants, fairy tales, and you reduce your climate goals. The 3 past years were the hottest since the beginning of weather records. Over the next decades, harvests lost, floods, destroyed roads and railroad tracks will lead to EUR 900 billion costs in Germany alone. In this exact moment, where we are all sitting here in this hall, are enjoying our cappuccino and are talking about the future of Siemens Energy, tens of thousands of people are fleeing life-threatening floods in Congo alone.
You know as well as I do, the climate crisis is threatening all of us, that is why you are so beautifully talking about sustainability, although I hardly ever heard the word climate from any of you. Siemens Energy could have become a model company of energy turnaround, grids, storage, et cetera. You talk about it, but apart from lofty words, there's nothing that you have to offer at the current point in time. Siemens Energy is one of the globally biggest manufacturers of gas turbines, the exact technology that is now enabling the expansion of dirty data centers and is shreddering the goals of the climate fight against climate change. Your business strategy is not in line with the Paris Climate Agreement. As long as you still build gas-powered plants, it's not enough what you're doing.
In the question on your climate strategy, you again and again said, Mr. Bruch, that it's your customers, who create that demand. No, you enable these dirty, this dirty business when you build, gas turbines. Our criticism might be at the wrong, place here. We should direct our criticism to, policymakers. That's easily said, but no, our criticism is at the right place right here, and you know this as well as I do. Since the day before yesterday, when, Since the end of the building energy law, it's become a reality that the gas industry never has to follow politics.
You are sitting at the table when we're talking about the energy turnaround, climate protection, and gas grids, the ominous hand of the market, some rules that are made outside of the realm of politics. It's people, and you are at that very table, and you don't have anything better to do than discontinuing climate protection before it even happens. In every technology, the fairy tale technology of hydrogen needs to be put into every law. I don't let anybody tell me that I'm at the wrong place here. You joke about tailwind, headwind, and no wind when talking about wind energy, but you are the headwind for the climate protection.
You take decisions on billions of dollars in expansion strategies, and you again and again, support dependencies, more and more climate crisis, and dirty fuels. I don't let anybody tell me that I'm at the wrong place here, because what Siemens Energy is doing co-determines how the planet will look like in 10, 20, or 30 years from now. It doesn't go in line with the world of tomorrow. It doesn't even go in line with the world of 2021, where the Federal Constitutional Court ruled that ambitious climate protection is important for the future generation and is a responsibility of companies as well, because it enables us to live responsibly. Mr. Bruch, you say you shape the world of energy of tomorrow. After the Adani debacle, Siemens Energy could have become the driver of change.
No, you continue to benefit from destruction, and what's even worse, with your dirty gas business, you exacerbate the climate crisis. You enable a foot-dragging of the energy transition. The good thing is, the energy transition of tomorrow hasn't been decided yet. You could still be on the right side of history. Get on the right side of history. Get behind the energy transition for actual pollution and transmission reductions. Don't only just talk about it. You know how to do it, and you know that it is in your responsibility. Mr. Bruch, I have three questions.
... Mr. Bruch, I have three questions for you. First of all, Siemens Energy intending to step out of fossil fuels. When is it you plan to change the business strategy to make it compliant with the Paris Agreement? How do you want to shift your production, but how do you also want to reduce the emissions for this? Three emissions, how do you want to take them into consideration when you talk about climate neutrality? Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mrs. Reemsma. You also asked a couple of questions. Let me tell you a story which happened 6 years ago. We decided to move into a particular direction, and I took the decision because we had big plans ahead of us. That's just an aside.
Over to a general request, apart from the respect towards managers and the 1,400 people who are directly involved, and the 1.7 or 100,000 who are actually also associated to that third point. There was a lot of criticism which was expressed by the other faculty, but one of your colleagues, Mrs. Neuer, was asked to join in back then, because I think the repetition of statements 100,000 times doesn't repeat. You know, when you help to bring about a solution, this is much more effective and efficient, because then you can actually overcome conflicting interests. I just want to mention that as an aside, because it's important to me. Over to Volker Schulz. Mr. Schulz, the floor is yours.
Mr. Kaeser, Mr. Bruch, dear shareholders, my name is Volker Schulz.
I'm a farmer and a citizen of Schleswig-Holstein, and here I'm speaking as a representative of the small shareholders and a representative of 300 citizens who are shareholders in Schleswig-Holstein, who hold 44X and 5X turbines of Siemens Energy, which were built up in the region. Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to cast a glance on the SG customers in wind power. Wind at Siemens Energy in 2023 really collapsed because the sales figures, the engineering did not manage to keep pace. This is how Mr. Kaeser mentioned it at one of Markus's launches shows. You know, when this disaster happened back then, many wind customers, I think approximately 800 5X turbines, were affected the world over, and they were economically damaged, significantly slow. Siemens Energy, how did you try to come to terms with this disaster?
I can only give you the answer that we generated in Schleswig-Holstein. None of these 300 citizens and shareholders are happy with the result of the wind turbine business and the presentation of the Siemens Energy reps in this particular affair. Everybody is completely disappointed and frustrated by the behavior of Siemens Energy. A lot of production deficits were made with regards to the supply of wind turbines in the years 2023 and 2024, and thus we've gone through a severe crisis, as you all know. As a consequence of that, in the entire wind sector, amongst larger and smaller customers, you have lost a lot of your good reputation. The way of coming to terms with the problems is totally dissatisfying, also on the part of our customers, because nobody really wants to name the technical problems, and transparency and consistency are profoundly missing vis-à-vis the existing customers.
Today, when we talk about Mr. Bruch's statements, who made mention that 6 out of the trend onshore wind plants is an example that goes to show that we try to increase our productivity, cut costs, and improve our competitiveness, this only shows that partial intransparency and erroneous statements make it up to the very top of the management, because de facto, we had no orders. The plants were closed because we had no orders for wind turbines. In May 2023, a sale was organized, after the reinitiation of the negotiations, only 2 of the businesses were concluded in Germany. My following questions should be answered, I wrote them down in my countermotion already. Oh, you're counting down, let me speak a bit faster, because the question had already been submitted to the management.
How many 5.X turbines in 2023 and 2024 were put into operation? How many of them in the U.S.? How many suffered from deficits and therefore were not given the approval of the customers for more than 6 months? Please give us an answer for every single year separately. Is it true that with regards to the information of the Supervisory Board in January 2023, before the loss warning in 2023, serious defects with very concrete technical descriptions were already submitted? Thirdly, how many arbitration and court proceedings with regards to the production deficits of 5.X turbines are currently pending, and how many have already been closed? Fourthly, is it true that a 5.X turbines, which were set up, did not reach afford availability of 97%?
Is it true that with regards to the 5X turbines, due to technical defects, already in autumn 2022, a technical update had already been planned? Sixth, on which particular day did the management decide to set up a task force to analyze the 5X problems with regards to the machine carrier, friction in the main bearing, and the blade? From which particular date onwards was this task force in operation? Seventh, in the first half of 2023, were written or oral informations be passed on with regards to the technical problems of the 5X problems to the customers? On which particular date did this happen for the first time? Eighth question: With regards to the defect identified, were the customers informed about them individually based on external notes?
Were these customers only informed with turbines which had already been set up, or also customers where these turbines were supposed to be set up? Ninth, on which particular date were customers informed about problems with the machine carrier and the main bearing, and when were corrective measures, corrective maintenance measures, be recommended? Tenth question: In April 2023, with regards to defects in the machine carrier and the main bearing, were the problems first to be rectified by carrying out maintenance works in the turbines which had already been set up? Maybe the bolts had to be fixed more tightly. Were these measures envisaged in order to rectify the problem or mitigate the problem?
I'd like to ask all the members of the board, of the supervisory board to come and visit us in Schleswig-Holstein in order to take a look at the problems that I just described. In the presentation, Mr. Bruch said at the end that Siemens Gamesa is on track. That is not true with regards to the onshore wind section. Siemens Gamesa or Siemens Energy has problems with the 4, 5.X customers. It caused detriments, and the lawyers were appointed in order to brush these problems under the carpet or deny them altogether. I think in the group language, this is called 'sweat it out.' This is not in line with your responsibility, and it's not customer-oriented either. Today, I heard several times that Siemens Energy should spin off Siemens Gamesa.
I think this is absolutely incorrect because then Siemens Energy would try to escape its responsibility completely in this particular section. The problem would simply be delegated to Siemens Gamesa, which should be divested. Instead of it, I think you should actually live up to your responsibility and do not only try to zoom in on the share price, but rather embark on a path in the interests of your customers. By the way, I'm also of the opinion that the remuneration of the board of management and supervisory board should not so much be based on the share price, but rather the development on equity. That's what it should be based on.
Thank you very much for your attention. Thank you very much, Mr. Schulz. I'm sorry to hear that you made some negative experience. I'm sure that the board will comment on that.
Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, I've just received a note telling me that I have to announce that the list of speakers has to be closed. This is also due to the fact that we have had a dialogue for two hours already, but we still have more than 10 speakers on our list, and of course, their questions also have to be answered. Therefore, I have to announce that we close the list of speakers at 3:00 P.M. If there are any further requests for the floor, please go to the registration counters, and please let us know that you asked for the floor up until 3:00 P.M. That's our deadline, so you still have plenty of time, more than 30 minutes. Please go over to the registration desk if you want to ask a question or contribute to the dialogue.
Depending on how we proceed with the speakers who are still on our list or who are going to get registered, if worst comes to the worst, I will have to limit the speaking time even further. At the current moment in time, let's stick to the 10 minutes. Thank you very much. Next comes Mr. Annensberger, followed by Enrico Wiesner. Mr. Annensberg er, please.
Ladies and gentlemen of the supervisory board and the board of management, dear co-shareholders. Mr. Kaeser, I'm really looking forward to the announced dialogue. In my name, and in my statement, I would like to focus on one particular section which has only been mentioned by one of the previous speakers before. In the financial statement, when you describe your business model and the business development in fiscal 2025, this has only been touched upon very briefly.
The same holds true for the presentations today. Same holds true with the outlook, and that relates to nuclear technology. Mr. Amin, almost exactly one year ago, you said that we are currently experiencing a worldwide renaissance of nuclear energy. In a press statement of the 28th of February last year, you announced, and this is something that was already mentioned in the course of the presentations, that Siemens Energy and Rolls-Royce have jointly signed an agreement for, I quote, "An exclusive partnership for the development of the more modular reactor." The completion of this agreement should be concluded at the end of 2025, but neither in the media nor during the meeting today have I heard anything more about this, and that is why I have the following questions. First, when was this agreement entered into, and which are the main items in it?
Secondly, what turnover do you expect, within which particular period of time? Thirdly, which additional comparisons in the field of SMR, USA had already been mentioned, do you have or are you planning for, and which profit do you expect from this to be generated? Fourth question, sorry: At which particular moment in time will the first turbines be delivered? In view of the planned performance of 470 MW, if I'm informed correctly, will the planned SMR be set up in Great Britain? Is this really a small modular reactor? I think a global scale, the threshold is 300 MW, which is larger than the first power plants that were built in Germany. One last question on this particular topic.
In view of the real developments in the nuclear sector, which means this, that as many nuclear power plants are being closed as being set up, would you continuously talk about a renaissance of nuclear energy? On to a second topic, which has gone through the press in recent weeks and months. It deals with the delivery of control units for the power plant in Paks II in Hungary. According to the newspaper articles, the Russian state company, Rosatom, which builds the power plant in Hungary, has terminated the agreement with Siemens Energy. Following, the following questions should be answered first. Is that correct? When did the termination take place, and when did you provide information about it, or why didn't you do so?
Secondly, in June 2025, the Hungarian Foreign and Trade Minister announced that Siemens Energy was going to delegate its nuclear transmission technology to Hungary directly in order to circumvent export bans. Were these plans really in existence, and was this control technology transferred, or why didn't you? What were the obstacles that were in your way, and what were the reasons for the contract to be terminated? Fourth question, the Russian side tells us that the Siemens Energy shipments were not significant for the completion of the project. They only amounted to 4% of the total value of the project. There were various different options in order to fill the gap with regards to transmission technology. Do you share this particular point of view, and if you don't, why not?
Recently, we were told that Framatome was going to deliver the technology for Paks. My question is: Is that correct? If so, on this particular basis, can Siemens deliver the technology which is needed? Fifth question, Siemens Energy, is it still involved in the nuclear power plant in Turkey, in Akkuyu? Which contract exists with Rosatom? Are they still valid with regards to shipments and maintenance works? Seventh question, for how many and which reactors of Soviet production outside of the Soviet Union do you have maintenance contracts? Mr. Kaeser, at the beginning of your speech, you justifiably referred to our support for Ukraine in its fight against the illegal war of attack of Russia.
... Based on this particular statement, how can you explain that you continuously do business with Rosatom, which is subjected to the control of Putin directly, and which, in the course of this war, for example, plays a fatal role in the power plant in Zaporizhzhia? In the financial statement, you also referred to taxonomy regulations, but you only gave us a very brief piece of information about these activities in your company with regards to nuclear energy. These are rather general statements, you see, so therefore, I would like to provide us with a more specific information. That relates to page 97 of the financial report. Where are you actually taking action, and to which extent and to which scope do you fund such activities? You know, we also talk about financial resources which are being made about.
What are the risk positions that should be mentioned in this context? This completes the list of my questions. Now, as someone who hails from Lower Bavaria, although I live in Moabit now, I'm really looking forward to your detailed answers, please. I am meeting my time allotment here. Thank you very much for your attention. My thanks also go out to 104,000 employees of Siemens Energy, who thanks to their work, have generated this remarkable profit for the company. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Mr. Annensberger. I think everybody will be happy also when I answer this question, not only people hailing from Lower Bavaria. Mr. Wiesner is next. Please.
Thank you very much. Dear investors, dear shareholders, dear employees, Dr. Pulcher, Mr. Kaeser. I'm Enrico Wiesner. I'm also in. I'm representing the We4Siemens Employee Shareholders Association. What I'm going to do here today is mostly ask questions. Most of these questions have either been answered already or has been put. Well, we just talked about Bavaria, by the way. Your previous speaker hails from Lower Bavaria. There's a famous Bavarian writer, Karl Valentin, who said: "It has already been said.
Everything has been said, but not by everyone." If you bear that in mind, then we need to follow this principle, I think. First of all, what are the results from Saudi Arabia that you brought with Ms. Reiche, the minister, and ASTA Energy Solutions also is a company that I'd like to learn more about and your active investments there. I have been an apprentice myself for Siemens Energy, for Siemens at the time, is the apprenticeship program in good shape for Siemens Energy? Are you planning more training centers for more of a territorial footprint? Does AI mean that you need to retrain and upskill your employees and apprentices?
How do you go about meeting the skilled labor shortage and address the demographic change in Germany? R&D is another topic. Why is R&D spending as a function of revenue between 2024 and 2025 decreased? What are the reasons why R&D spending is going down? In 2025 and 2024, the investments were EUR 1.2 billion. As a relationship of revenues in 2025, it was 3.1%, and in 2024, it was 3.5%. The relative ratio has gone down. Small modular reactors, that was a question I had on my list. This has already been dealt with. Investments, in 2025, Siemens Energy invested EUR 2.3 billion, which is positive.
It's significantly more than the year before, when it was EUR 1.5 billion. Where is the focus in terms of investment, both regionally and also in priority areas? Do you collaborate with Siemens Energy on IT and AI? you had this wind turbine blade here as an example. As someone who has worked at Huttenstrasse before, I can say this is an excellent choice of location here. All my questions I asked are future-focused. Finally, as I'm wrapping up here, it is our expectation that you should also align strategy and realities, and we want to see the community of employee shareholders grow. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Mr. Wiesner. These are some good questions, I think.
That was a new record, three minutes, two seconds. ... Thank you very much again. Ms. Meister, Sonja Meister now has the floor from the Association of Ethical Shareholders.
Okay, all shareholders. Okay, please. Ladies and gentlemen, members of the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board, I'm Sonja Meister. I work for the environmental and human rights organization, Urgewald, and I'm also speaking on behalf of the Association of Ethical Shareholders today. Siemens Energy, as you are saying, is committed to the highest standards, environmental and climate action and human rights for all of your projects. The benchmark seems to be very low, because how do we understand that you continue your business at the Mozambique LNG project with TotalEnergies, which is a project that is violating human rights and that endangers the environment and the climate?
In October 2020, you concluded supply contracts for 6 industrial gas turbines and more equipment. In April 2021, the Mozambique LNG project, after a devastating terrorist attack to Palma, the city nearby, has been put on the back burner for many years. The gas installation requires military protection. TotalEnergies has been using troops by the Mozambique army, has paid bonus compensation to them, has spent money on catering. Mozambique Energy and TotalEnergies should have known back in 2020 that those protective forces have committed severe human rights violations. Now, you have said upfront you have investigated the security risks. Did you rightly and correctly assess the security and risk situation in 2020?
Has TotalEnergies informed you at all times and in due course about the human rights violations by your protective complement working there? Does the original supply contract include just turbines or other services like maintenance, et cetera? In 2021, then, there was an assumed massacre committed by the Mozambique army against the civil population at the entrance to the gas installation. TotalEnergies has been taken to court as challenged for involvement in a massive crime, which is denied by TotalEnergies. There are hundreds of complaints by families who were forcibly resettled. Any compensation for land loss have not been finally adjudicated. There are entire communities whose livelihoods depended on fisheries, now live in a village kilometers away from the coastline.
About 4.6 billion tons of CO2 emissions, which is 7 times the annual emissions of Germany, are caused by the project, and they're endangering marine areas and coral reefs. Why can such a project that is detrimental to the environment and also detrimental to the human rights situation, would still meet your environmental and human rights standards? How do you assess the human rights situation in this project? How do you assess the security risks of a project in a region where terrorist groups are still active? How can you avoid or mitigate human rights violations if the Mozambique army continues to be on site for years going forward? Because this facility cannot operate without any protection. How can Siemens Energy mitigate the consequences of people that have been forcibly resettled? TotalEnergies, these...
TotalEnergies, despite the tense security situation, has revitalized the project. It looks like a fortress which is protected by the military. Access is only possible through the sea. In a letter to us, you said you will be conducting a comprehensive risk assessment before that project gets restarted. Well, we've asked you on two occasions whether you have sought to talk to Dalia Robero from the Environmental Justice Pressure group, which is an NGO, that in 2024 received the Alternative Nobel Prize, especially for their work on Mozambique LNG. They are in close contact with the vulnerable communities. They have knowledge of the situation on site. Siemens Energy has not accepted talks with that NGO. Are you only relying on your business partners, like TotalEnergies, for information?
I'm asking you again, have you delivered that gas turbine to Mozambique, or you're just verifying the risks of the project? What are the relevant stakeholders in the regions that you have talked to? Are you in a close exchange on the part of Siemens Energy? Can you ensure that you maintain a risk analysis that corresponds to the OECD guidelines and the UN Guiding Principles for the economy and human rights? Will you publish those results transparently? Can you tell me here today that you will commit to start a conversation with the Environmental Justice NGO in order to get independent information? Finally, will Siemens Energy quit the service contracts with the TotalEnergies?
Finally, the Dutch and U.K. governments have recently revisited their export guarantees and have withdrawn them for this project, which is a significant step. Why? Because they had concerns about the security and human rights situation of the project. Mr. Bruch and Mr. Kaeser, if you are not seeing any concerns and not drawing the conclusions from such concerns, that would mean for me that Siemens Energy has no credibility on standards related to human rights and climate action. It's more than time now, finally, for your company to withdraw from this project. Thank you very much.
Thank you very much, Ms. Meister, for the clear wording of the matter that needs to be addressed. We'll continue with Mr. Vladimir Slivyak. I hope I've pronounced your name properly, Vladimir Slivyak. Please, you have the floor. Did I pronounce your name properly? Did I pronounce your name correctly? Yeah. Please, you have the floor.
Mr. Kaeser, Mr. Poch, dear shareholders, I'm Vladimir Slivyak. I have a translator with me, who is going to read out my speech on my behalf.
It has been more than four years now that Russia has started its comprehensive invasion of Ukraine, the most lethal conflict in Europe since the Second World War. More than 1 million people in this war have already been killed or maimed. The only realistic way to end this war is to remove resources from Russia that they still need to wage this war. What it means is that democratic nations must stop any economic cooperation with the Russian regime. The board of administrators of Rosatom is staffed with high-ranking politicians and security officers, who themselves are on sanctions lists due to their involvement in the war. Siemens Energy, in 2022, announced that no new contracts will be concluded in Russia. Now, it must be made unmistakably clear that there can be no new contracts with Russian companies, including Rosatom.
If you continue to conduct business with the Russian state corporations, you help them to make the money that they need to wage a war. I've been happy to hear that Siemens Energy is not using I&C systems for the Paks II project in Hungary, not going to deliver them. I hope that you will never sign any contracts with Rosatom, because any collaboration with the Russian regime would extend its political influence in Europe by developing reactor projects, supplying fuel rods, and offer services. The involvement of Siemens Energy would lend greater credibility to those projects of Rosatom. Almost four years ago, Siemens Energy announced it would wind down its business in Russia alongside many German and European companies who refused to finance Russia's war machinery.
That was welcome, it only is telling you one side of the story. In some nuclear power plants in Russia, the Siemens Energy-manufactured instruments and control systems, the I&C systems that I mentioned before, are still installed. As far as I know, this requires regular maintenance and service, by technicians or engineers with long-term service contracts. Carrying out those long-term service contracts helps the Russian industry to reduce their electricity production costs, where the money saved is then used for the war in Ukraine. Rosatom is not a neutral economic operator. It's the state-controlled Russian nuclear company that directly supports the Russian armed forces. Their employees are occupying the Zaporizhzhia power plant in Ukraine, and they are supplying critical material for the Russian army, which would be tantamount to a sanctions circumvention.
The Kremlin has repeatedly threatened the use of nuclear weapons against the West, and Rosatom is the producer of those weapons. I call upon Siemens Energy to end any collaboration with the Russian nuclear energy industry, no matter where this cooperation takes place globally. Now, I come to the questions of Mr. Slivyak, 7 of them. Number one: Can you confirm that the delivery contract to the Hungarian Paks II nuclear power plant has been terminated? Can you, number two, confirm that the supply contract for the Akkuyu project has been terminated? Number three: According to Rosatom, The plant and machinery not supplied by Siemens Energy was replaced by Chinese OEMs. Does Siemens Energy entertain any business relationship with these Chinese companies who replaced their equipment? Have you got any other Rosatom-related project ties in other countries?
Number 5: For how many nuclear reactors in Russia do you have existing service contracts? Number 6: Which nuclear reactors built outside of Russia do you have service contracts with? 7, the last question: How often have your experts or your subcontractors, since the beginning of the war, been visiting Russian power plants, nuclear power plants, to perform maintenance and service on I&C systems?
Thank you very much, Mr. Slivyak. I have a question to the translator, please, if I may. Can I ask a question to the translator? I understand Mr. Slivyak is Ukrainian?
Nein.
He's not?
Russian.
Russian? Okay. I'd like to take this opportunity, on behalf of the Supervisory Board, and I'm sure also on behalf of the Executive Board and also on behalf of all of us, to express our full solidarity with the Ukrainian people.
Then, uh, we will now proceed with Ms. Katrin Gutmann, who is the third representative of the Association of Ethical Shareholders, if I see this correctly. Ms. Gutmann, please.
Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Katrin Gutmann, with the Beyond Fossil Fuels NGO and part of the umbrella organization, Critical Shareholders. I have a question on gas turbines and data centers. First, on gas turbines. There is a global boom for the construction of new gas-fired power plants. The Global Energy Monitor researchers showed that 83.6 GW of gas plants are being developed. It is well known that Siemens Energy delivers gas turbines. After GE, the second biggest supplier worldwide. Nowhere around the world will there be more new gas-fired power plants than in the United States. The U.S. government has dropped any climate ambition.
These U.S. gas expansion plans don't have anything to do with the provision of flexible capacities with a system of renewable energies or climate protection. A participation of Siemens Energy gives you the impression of being a company that wants to benefit from the American return to fossil fuels. In view of these new developments in the United States, my question is: As a globally active European company, isn't that in a contradiction with the European commitment for climate protection? What are the adjustments that you have made with regard to your investment plans so that you will exit the U.S. gas turbine investments? Question on data centers. Global boom for the expansion of data centers, especially in the United States, but also in Europe.
According to Global Energy Monitor researchers, 96 GW of fossil gas will be used to build new data centers. Their research also shows that part of these gas-fired power plants will be operated with Siemens Energy gas. In Ireland, there's already one. Dr. Bruch, you already said it, you already said it in a newspaper interview. You don't see an AI bubble approaching us, the situation in the U.S. is different. Seven states currently plan the introduction of moratoriums for data centers, as of March 2025, U.S. data center projects amounting to $64 billion are met with cross-party local opposition. The Bank of America was asked about AI investments, a record number said that companies invest too much in AI.
My questions are the following: Siemens Energy plans to provide gas turbines for U.S. data centers. What about Europe? Are there plans by Siemens Energy to provide gas turbines and participate in the construction of new data centers in Europe? Can you give us concrete sites and projects? Do you already have certain agreements that you signed to build these data centers? The lack of production capabilities for gas turbines until 2030 leads to the question whether gas turbines for normal gas-fired power plants for... whether they will be delayed in Europe if Siemens also starts to provide gas turbines for data centers in the U.S.
You've announced your plans for data centers in the US, are there plans in Europe to create further capacities for data centers, are sites, or have sites already been identified for these data centers? In view of the increasing criticism of the fast expansion of data centers in the United States and Europe, a participation of Siemens Energy does not only seem financially risky, but it is also a risk for the company's reputation. What are the consequences that you draw from these new developments in the United States with a view to data centers? We believe that a complete new alignment away from gas turbines towards wind turbines and the provision of energy for power grids and batteries would be an appropriate move to reduce the risks and to establish Siemens Energy as a global company for electro tech and for the future. Do you agree? Thank you.
T hank you, Ms. Gutmann. Before we go into the round of answers, it's 3:00 or just past 3:00. As announced, we will close the list of speakers. Is there anybody who would still like to take the floor? Anybody, show of hands or maybe somebody's outside? Let's say 3:15 is the last opportunity. Please go to the registration desk until 3:15, and then the speakers list will be closed. 3:15, so you have another 15 minutes. Yeah. Okay.
It's up to the board. Let's go into the second round. This is going to be a little bit longer. I have two question by Mr. Wiesner that I have overlooked, let me quickly touch on that. It was about hydrogen electrolyzer and a reference to gas turbine solutions. I don't know what you were referring to. I try to answer it. There are no solutions, no combined solutions like the coupled sale of electrolyzer and gas turbines. We used to have that in the past, we don't have it anymore. The use of hydrogen in gas turbines is one of many applications that we continue to pursue in the medium and long run. We see market opportunities, hydrogen in different sectors and industries is needed for decarbonization.
I said it will be the process industry where it's first used, and then in the energy industry. There is a broad range of applications. At the moment, as I said, it's very, very challenging because the market conditions don't exist because the prices are not being paid. Now, if I were to look outside of China, because you mentioned business opportunities, we were leading in the electrolyzer market, and we were able to win a number of large-scale bids and successfully implement others. We also have a very competitive product on the market, which is being produced in Berlin. In this context, you also asked about the influence on the political agenda, especially in Germany.
We are doing this on a regular basis, and we will continue to do this to highlight that you need to have a lot of stamina here. The situation today is that there is no economically feasible business model without state subsidies. It's not about investment subsidies, but operating costs. This is a big problem. You will only create this or succeed here if you create demand incentives via quota or however, but this is a long-standing discussion, and we participate in it. Now, Marla Deiman, if I am going to repeat myself, I'd already like to ask for your forgiveness. There were a lot of individual questions.
You asked how a fossil large-scale project like Porto do Açu with the can be brought in line with the decarbonization goals of Siemens Energy and the 1.5 degree goal. I think you said it, we deliver gas turbines for this project, and these are highly efficient gas turbines compared to others. This is a reduction of emissions, and at the end of the day, we believe this contributes to decarbonization. All of these discussions always lead to the question of: How do we look at the reference solution? What is that, and how do we compare to that? That's why we always say: Would we save CO2 as opposed to a reference solution? Whether gas is good or bad is something we can argue about.
We consider it to be part of the solution, as long as we don't have everything based on renewables, and as long as there is still coal when it comes to energy. You also asked about the concrete human rights and ecological risks that were identified in Porto do Açu and the measures deriving from that. These concrete human rights and ecological risks, the impact on mangroves, coastal ecosystems, biodiversity, and land use-related questions, they fall under the responsibility of the port operator in the Brazilian legal system, and they are monitored by independent experts. We observe this carefully, and we are in contact with the partners on that. As I just said, this is an issue that falls under the remit of the port operators. You ask about the concrete economic benefit.
Siemens Energy draws from its participation in the port and energy project, Porto do Açu. When this benefit is to be realized, we expect for our invested capital, we have a minority participation, a risk-adequate interest over the duration of our commitment. The commitment has not yet been concluded. It's still ongoing. As I said, it's an investment project. You also asked: What are the concrete measures taken to minimize risks? This is a little bit repetitive now. It's the second question that I have in here: biodiversity, mangroves, et cetera, and the issue that this falls under the responsibility of the operator of the port. We monitor compliance. The review falls on the remit of the authorities.
We have a minority participation in a user of the port, not the operator of the port, to make that clear. You ask how what's the volume of the complete Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions of the Porto do Açu project, including the liquification and transport and combustion of the LNG? We cannot answer that question because we're only minority partner. This is something that the project company needs to answer. Based on our current knowledge, we cannot. You ask about reports on enforced relocations in the environment of Porto do Açu, how we assess these, and whether we carried out own independent human rights reviews. Well, we are not the developer nor the operator of Porto do Açu. We didn't have any roles when it comes to land acquisitions or relocations.
That falls under the responsibility of Prumo Logística and the responsible authorities. We use our human rights policy and risk-based due diligence processes. We publish publicly indicated claims, and we have not found any evidence-based indications that there is a participation by Siemens Energy. You asked about our dialogue with affected communities in the Porto do Açu project. Again, the dialogue with the communities is carried out by the operator of the port in cooperation or in adherence of the local regulatory requirements. Siemens Energy is informed by its partners and through internal ESG processes, but the responsibility lies with the operator of the port. You also want to know whether Siemens Energy last, during the last fiscal year, talked to local communities within the framework of the Porto do Açu project.
As I said, we ourselves do not carry out independent dialogues with regard to the Porto do Açu project. The responsibility clearly falls to the operator of the port. We live up to our responsibility and monitor the developments annually. We're in an exchange with our partners, investors, and the responsible authorities. What are the criteria that would have to exist for Siemens Energy to be willing to retreat from the Porto do Açu project if credible violations of human rights were to be found? Are there defined exit criteria? These are a lot of hypothetical questions with a lot of ifs.
I don't think I can give you a respectable answer here, but to say this generally, if there are credible violations confirmed by independent organizations, and that are directly connected to a project, we check individual measures based on different criteria until we reassess our participation as an ultima ratio, but in this case, this does not occur. You also talked about the Western Sahara and the activities in the Western Sahara, and the ruling of the European Court of Justice from 2024, and the concept of alleged consent, and you asked whether Siemens Energy believed that its activity fulfilled the conditions as expressed by the court. We haven't done any business in the Western Sahara since for a long time.
A legal assessment of our activities in view of the ruling of 2024 doesn't apply. We do fulfill our obligations based on existing contracts. This is called pacta sunt servanda, and rulings of the European Court of Justice do not specifically apply to contracts under private law between companies. You also asked, what are the concrete criteria to establish whether a measure is to the benefit of the Sahrawi people or not, who developed these criteria, who made this decision, and who reviews the implementation? On October fourth, 2024, the ruling of the European Court of Justice requires potential advantages of the project to be concretely and understandably to the benefit of the Sahrawi people, including those who live in exile.
In practice, we review based on individual cases, whether a project can lead to collective benefits and advantages and what type of necessary exchange is necessary to lead to the benefit of the Sahrawi people. As I said, in the past years, we did not conclude any new business in Western Sahara. You also asked about the measures taken by Siemens Energy to ensure that the presence in the Western Sahara doesn't lead to the continuation of an illegal occupation. Let me repeat what I already said. We pursue our economic activities in the Western Sahara with a strong adherence to the legal requirements and human rights.
Questions are addressed within the framework of the review processes in exchange with the customers, and for many years, we have not concluded any new business in the Western Sahara region. You also wanted to know how Siemens Energy plans to cooperate with Frente POLISARIO. The European Court of Justice recognizes Frente POLISARIO as an important interlocutor in the UN process, but also establishes that it's not the sole representation of the people of the Sahrawi, and we currently do not plan to have an exchange with Frente POLISARIO. You also want to know whether we participated in the tender for the 3 GW ultra high-power transmission net Dakhla–Casablanca, and whether we did this successfully or unsuccessfully. We did not participate in this tender.
As said, in an early stage, we expressed our interest at a time where no detailed project information was yet available. You also asked whether another type of participation in this project between Sguerrat and Casablanca was checked, or whether we aimed at participating in an early stage. We expressed our general interest. We did not participate in the tender in any way. Nothing has changed here. You also wanted to know whether the project Tiskrad was discontinued. We think it wasn't discontinued. We're not involved.
This brings me to the questions asked by Miss Reemsma. I have two questions. We'll have to see that because I remember that she asked more than that. Miss Reemsma, you want to know when Siemens Energy plans to exit the fossil business. I'm referring my answer to gas. We don't have any plans to exit the gas business. We believe gas to be an important solution. As you know, we exited from coal. There are no plans to exit from gas. You also asked when and how the business strategy will be adjusted to the requirements of the Paris Agreement. How we plan to become carbon neutral in our production. How the emissions can be take the Scope 3 emissions into consideration.
Now, we've achieved savings of 56% so far. This goes beyond what the demands for Scope 1 and 2 were after Paris. This refers to the emissions during the use phase of our products, and this depends very much on market and customer decisions that we don't have direct influence on. That's why in 2030, we follow an intensity-based reduction goal, and we want to reduce emissions per EUR order intake vis-a-vis 2080 by 50%. I believe that the global energy market, as I already mentioned in my speech, or as I already said in the last answer, is falling behind the Paris goals, considerably so. Sometimes you might like this, sometimes not.
I would also wish the market to act differently, but a net zero zeal, which is outside of our control, wouldn't be credible either. For us, it's important to gradually improve when it comes to decarbonization based on a broad portfolio, and we believe gas to be a part of this. Even though I would wish for the change to happen faster in the market, and especially with the increasing energy volumes, this is not good for climate. I think we all agree on this. As I said, it's a difficult situation to go this path for the benefit of everybody.
Mr. Reemtsma, I only have answers available for these two questions. Please bear with me if there is something I forgot to answer, let me know. Over to the questions of Mr. Schulz, who asked us about the number of turbines put into operation in the years 2022, 2023, and 2024. Turbines of the type 5.X, how many were put into operation in the U.S.? How many of which were not taken over by the customers due to deficits? Now, in the year 2022, 29 turbines were put into operation. In 2023 it was 277. In the year 2024 it was 344, none of which was put into operation in the U.S. Approval discussions were only carried out after the implementation, after agreed to fitting.
Therefore, the customers did not refuse to accept the turbines, even though there were some delays. Let me just remind you of the situation of the U.S. The 5.X is not a product for the U.S. American market, but predominantly for the European market. Before you move on to the next question, have a sip of water. Well, the notary public just told me that I have to share the following information for you. We just closed the list of speakers. I had to make this announcement. Now back to the boss of the company.
Fair enough. On to your question. You wanted to know about the information submitted to the Supervisory Board on serial defect in the beginning of 2023. At any given point in time, was the Supervisory Board informed about the state of play? He spoke about serial deficits of certain components, but I'm not really aware of that. You also asked us about pending quote and arbitration proceedings with regards to production deficits of 5.X turbines. Only one current proceeding is underway, and therefore, there are no other closed cases because there are no other proceedings happening. You wondered whether it's true that prior to the 31st of December 2023, the installed 5.X turbines in the year 2024 and 2025, 20%, only 20% of them reached a total availability of 97%. This statement is not correct.
You also wanted to know whether for the wind energy turbines of the 5.X series, due to technical deficits, as update was planned. In autumn 2022, Siemens Gamesa, in connection with the regular maintenance works, design optimizations were reviewed. The goal was a cost improvement and then the integration of new know-how in the prototype development. A new design update for the 5.X's were not planned at that particular moment in time. You also asked when a task force was set up for the 5.X with regards to the technical improvements of the 5.X platform. At the end of July 2023, a quality task force was created, existing of experts from Siemens Energy, Siemens Gamesa, and external advisors. The task force started to do its work in August that year.
... You want to know from which day onward the task force was acting? At the end of July, it was created, and in the beginning of August, it started to do its work. There is a whole set of different questions: Did you receive any pieces of information in writing or orally about the existing deficits of the wind turbines? When did this information surface for the first time? Did you provide information to the customers on a regular basis? On which particular day did this happen? You asked a whole plethora of different questions. With regards to the customer information on specific technical deficits of the 5X turbines, I would like to answer them in one go. With regards to the technical deficits of the 5X turbines, Siemens Gamesa analyzed the deficits and developed various different potential solutions.
The deficit mentioned by you, friction of the main bearing measures were brought about in order to adjust the balls more accurately. The more technical information we retrieved, the better it measures were implemented by Siemens Gamesa. In addition to that, we informed our customers about the deficits. There are a lot of technical deficits that occurred with regards to 5X, but no comprehensive customer communication was carried out. External notes were used from the beginning of 2024 onwards, our customers with already installed turbines received this information, and also those where these turbines were supposed to be set up. That much on the questions regarding Mr. Schulz, I hope, Joe, you also made mention of the fact that I'm really sorry about the fact that you made this experience. This is a far cry away from our expectations.
Now, Vino, I'm looking over to you, but we jointly have to work on that because this is not in line with our expectations, because we want to deliver good quality products and cooperate very closely with our customers.
Herr Annensberger.
Mr. Annensberger, you wanted to know about the concluding date and the contract with Rolls-Royce for an exclusive partnership for the development of a small modular reactor. In February 2025, such an agreement was signed, which laid the foundation for an exclusive partnership for the development of these small modular reactors. In December 2025, we signed a so-called heads of terms, which defines the very foundation of this partnership. At the same time, together with Rolls-Royce, we are working on the first projects with SMR goals. It is the goal of this cooperation to ensure that Siemens Energy will be the sole supplier for the non-nuclear components of the power plant. This includes steam turbines, generators, and other auxiliary systems for the plant modular power plants of the generation 3+ of the British manufacturer. This does not include any participation of ours in the nuclear part of the plant.
You wanted to know which turnover we expect to be generated with Rolls-Royce SMR, in which particular period of time? I think this is a very promising partnership, but we cannot yet envisage any turnover numbers that we can share with you today.
The, um,
This question is rather similar. You wanted to know about this financial scope that was going to emerge from the partnership. In the nuclear field, we've got various different partnerships. In addition to Rolls-Royce SMR, we also have a partnership with the U.S. American company, Oklo. The SMR concept is one possible solution for nuclear developments, but it will take years to be implemented, and the financial potential of this project cannot yet be anticipated. You wanted to know whether in plant of the total performance of 470 megawatts, you can really talk about a small SMR, where the limits reach 300 megawatts at an international level. They are not small, and they're not always modular, but they're still called SMRs.
They are smaller than conventional nuclear reactors, but when you apply today's standard, the conventional power plants have a total performance of 1 gigawatt, so they are actually smaller. Of course, it goes without saying that we have to come up with a varied scalability in order to continuously be economical. Most SMR concepts today focus on 200-300 megawatts, but there are more and more plans to extend them to 400-500 megawatts. This is not only part of the plans of Rolls-Royce, but also of other players in the market. Therefore, we have to wait and see what's going to happen in this particular market segment. You still want to know whether we continuously talk about the renaissance of nuclear energy? The answer is yes.
At global scale, there is an increasing interest in new reactor concepts and the long-term acquisition or operation of existing plants. This is one part of the energy sources that we will continuously use in the future. You want to know whether the Russian state company, Rosatom, terminated its agreement with Siemens Energy? Yes, the company, the country did so. Hungary terminated the agreement, by way of information, we've never had a contractual relationship to Rosatom. We had a contract with a subsidiary, but not directly with Rosatom. On to the next question. You wanted to know when this contract was terminated on Paks II, and whether shareholders were informed about it or whether they were not informed about it?
The contract was terminated at the end of 2025. These announcements were only came into effect in the course of this month. The results did not have to be published. You wanted to know whether the nuclear light technology section, sector would have to be transferred to Hungary directly in order to circumvent export bans. The light technology section was not transferred to Hungary in line with EU regulation and approval processes. Only parts of the project were supposed to be transferred to Hungary in order to ensure a smooth running of the project. You also wanted to know whether we share the position of the Russian side, that the Siemens Energy supplies are not important for the nuclear power plant project, amounting to 4% only, and that other options would be available in order to fill that gap.
Yes, the technology of Siemens Energy for the entire operation of the nuclear power plant, only amounts to a small percentage, and it's also correct to say that there are also other suppliers for this technology available in the market, apart from Siemens Energy. You also wanted to know whether Siemens is still involved in the power plant in Akkuyu, in Turkey. No, Siemens Energy is not involved. We only have a supply contract for the grid of that project. Which additional contacts exist with Rosatom, and are they still valid with regards to supplies or maintenance? The only existing contract with Rosatom and its subsidiary relates to the project in Akkuyu, in Turkey. As already mentioned before, the contract was terminated for the project Paks II in Hungary. For how many and which reactors of Soviet operation did we have maintenance contracts outside of Russia?
We do not have any maintenance agreements for Russian reactors, neither inside nor outside of Russia. You also wanted to know how we continuously support Ukraine with our business activities and Rosatom, how this could be combined. The business activities between Siemens and Rosatom, Siemens Energy and Rosatom, do only exist based on the old contracts, which were concluded before the beginning of the war in Ukraine. In February 2023, Siemens Energy already decided not to enter into any new business activities with the Russian state company Rosatom, or any of its subsidiaries where it held a majority share. Joe also made mention of this. We are all very strongly committed to Ukraine, and we do everything in our power to support this country. The war of Russia against this country is terrible and devastating, day in, day out.
I meet President Zelensky on a regular basis in order to find out what we can do. We have started an educational initiative in Ukraine in order to come up with a solution on a short-term basis to mitigate the terrible energy situation. We deliver components for many of the companies in the region. We also supply used parts in order to fill the necessary gaps at short notice. Ukraine gets a lot of support from us. The situation is more than devastating. You wanted to know what the company's stance is on nuclear energy. As already mentioned before, we are only active in what is called the cold section of nuclear power plants. Again, the steam turbines, generators, and control units, that's all we deliver. Here we also talk about classical, big power plants and a lot of service agreements.
That is what most of our contributions are all about. Small modular reactors are a perspective for after 2030, but we have to wait and see what's going to happen in this regard. You wanted to know to which scope Siemens Energy is active in the field of nuclear energy, and how we fund it. We do not finance any projects in the field of nuclear energy. You wanted to know about the risk position in connection with activities in the field of nuclear energy. We do not have any significant risks in our balance sheet on the subject of nuclear energy. Mr. Wiesner, you wanted to know about the results of our visit to Saudi Arabia with Mrs. Reiche, the Minister of Economics. We participated in this visit in order to support the Minister on her trip to Saudi Arabia.
We signed a declaration of intent on hydrogen together with a Saudi company. It's only a declaration of intent, and apart from that, we participated in the dialogue with the Saudi Energy Minister and Mrs. Reiche about potential cooperation projects and strategic partnerships. To us, as a company, we have not yet concluded any significant contracts, but we are a very important player in the region. What is the strategy of Siemens Energy versus the most important shareholders in ASTA Energy? It's a supplier for us in the field of grid technology, and we really want to make sure that we can always get critical components, and our participation in ASTA Energy was part of this strategy. Therefore, as an anchor shareholder, we try to maintain our position, but it's a minority share that we hold.
We want to see to it that this downstream products in copper are still available for Grid Technologies. That's the main reason. You wanted to know whether our educational programs are very well positioned in Germany, and whether our training center tries to ensure that we roll out our educational activities in other regions of the world as well. We always talk to our works counselors about this topic, but during the AGM last year, I told you that I'm very proud of the educational schemes that are in place in Germany. We're very well positioned. Systematically, we try to analyze the demand, and we are also in close contact with our partners with regards to the competencies and skills required. We continuously improve our educational schemes in the training centers. We do not want to extend our training centers.
As of now, 85% of our pupils are connected directly to a training center, or they're based in its vicinity. You know, this discussion is ongoing, but we'll keep on working along these lines, and it's very important for us to keep our very high educational standards up because vocational training is of the essence, and I can't repeat this often enough. You also wanted to know why research and development investments have declined compared to the turnover in 2025 compared to 2024, and what the main reasons for this are. You already mentioned it before. The absolute contribution remains the same, but the percentage points decline due to the increase in revenues. Of course, we need to strike the right balance between the investments in capacities and investments into R&D.
I wanted to keep this at a stable level with regards to the absolute number. Of course, now it makes sense to invest a lot into organic growth, but this might change in the course of the next years to come. It also depends on the market developments. I think with more than $1 billion, you can actually achieve a lot, you see? It is not only the amount spent on R&D which leads to new innovations. You wanted to know about the main topics and regional priorities for investments. Out of our immaterial assets and fixed assets, the total amount, 50% were spent on Gas Services and Grid Technologies. 40% of our investments were spent on wind. We put a regional emphasis on Europe, where 3/4 of the total investments were made, predominantly driven by projects in Germany and Denmark.
On to the next question: with regards to our IT strategy, any cooperation with the Siemens AG? We, of course, are a customer with the Siemens AG. It will continuously be the case because they sell good software packages, but there is no cooperation with regards to our IT strategy in general.
You asked about the new requirements of the development AI and any changes to our curricula or vocational training content in order to address skilled labor shortage. It's true, AI is changing the world of work sustainably. Since 2025, AI and data analytics are curricula contents in our vocational training, we're also trying to integrate new technology and business trends in all of our vocational training. We're focusing on licenses, how many licenses we need to... We also see that AI developments are so fast-paced. They're much faster, happening much faster than our internal processes, but we're working on it, rest assured. Now, I'd like to address the questions asked by Ms. Meister.
You asked whether the security situation and risks associated with the TotalEnergies Mozambique LNG project were correctly assessed in 2020, and whether we were informed promptly and comprehensively about possible human rights violations. Now, as you said, the supply contracts for that project were signed in 2020. Any engagement in countries with increased security risks are part of our business philosophy. Why? Because we're convinced that economic development and reliable power supply, or, economic activities, can make a sustainable contribution to stability and social progress. Alongside many other international companies, Siemens Energy was selected as a supplier of technical components. Before those contracts were signed, as with all of such projects, a risk-based assessment of the project was carried out, and at the time, they did not reveal any serious irregularities.
We're taking the reports on the security situation in the project region as an opportunity to make further inquiries. Now, for instance, we're in contact with the project operator, TotalEnergies, and have requested further information and assessments. We continue to do that. Let me also add, we are a company that is always working in crisis areas, in trouble hot spots, so we need to understand: What's the situation in the country like? How can our project solve a certain situation? This is a gray zone. We have to take a case-by-case decision, but we're working in many regions of the world that are stricken by crisis. Some of these are very unsafe, where we have a footprint. It's part of how we understand business.
You wanted to know whether the original supply project for the Mozambique LNG project included only turbine deliveries, or also services. In the original contract, we had the supply of technical components. No other services yet, they had not been contracted. You want to know why TotalEnergies Mozambique LNG project, whether it meets the environmental and human rights standards, and how the human rights situation in this project is assessed? As I said, the risks have been carefully assessed and weighed up for this project. There are risk minimization and control measures in place, and based on that assessment, we currently conclude that our limited scope of services is in compliance with our ESG and human rights standards.
We're monitoring the situation on an ongoing basis and would consider appropriate steps if new findings come to light. As I said, at this moment, we're trying to find additional information, to gather information. You want to understand how we are assessing the situation of work in a country where terrorist groups are still active. This is along the lines of what I said before. Any engagements in countries with higher security risks are part of our business philosophy, fundamentally. Why? Because we're convinced that economic development, energy supply, power supply is required in those countries. To assess specific security risk for the TotalEnergies project, please also ask colleagues at TotalEnergies, because they're in charge. They're the operator, they're the investor. We are just the supplier of individual components.
... You're asking sich, wie sich die Menschenrechtsverbrechen...
How can human rights violations be avoided or mitigated if the Mozambican army must be present on site? To prevent or mitigate human rights violations in state security and military operations is the responsibility of the states themselves. We ourselves cannot influence a military decision or procedures on the ground. What we can do is to make sure that we meet human rights due diligence obligations within our area of responsibility. We are not replacing a national state here. We again, we are active in regions where a potential terror risk exists, and we need to manage those risks. You also asked to what extent Siemens Energy has the ability to mitigate the consequences of people resettled as a result of the Total Energy energy project.
Again, any resettlement is the responsibility of the project company and the authority. TotalEnergies. Siemens Energy is not involved in these decisions. We cannot provide an answer to this question. You're asking whether the gas turbines have already been shipped or whether the risks are still being assessed. Currently, no shipments have been carried out because of the disruption or the delay of the project. You also ask what the stakeholders are with whom Siemens Energy is in contact. We don't have an operational footprint in Mozambique. All we do is supply individual components. We do not ourselves conduct any local stakeholder dialogues. To involve relevant local stakeholders, the project operator would be in charge. We do talk to our customer at TotalEnergies about this.
Can a risk analysis for Mozambique LNG guaranteed as it follows the requirements of the OECD Guidelines and the UN Guiding Principles for the economy and Human Rights? Our risk assessments are based on international frameworks like the UN Guiding Principles and the OECD requirements and correspond to the highest possible standards. Have the results of the risk analysis of the Mozambique LNG projects published transparently? We do not publish them in full, if only for security reasons. We ensure that any findings are incorporated in our decision-making processes and reporting. You asked about a meeting with the Justiça Ambiental in order to get information on the Mozambique LNG project.
We appreciate the commitment of all stakeholders and verify all dialogue requests so carefully. We cannot make any commitment at this point. You ask whether Siemens Energy will withdraw from the supply contracts with Mozambique LNG. This is currently not foreseen. These contracts are legally binding. There were 2 questions from Mr. Annensberger. They have been followed up. Now, you asked when the first turbines for small modular reactors can be shipped or generally delivered. I said earlier, they're an interesting option. They're certainly not a short-term solution. The first reactors will not be commercially available anywhere around the mid 2030s. It will be then a few more years after that before they can be delivered. The turbines themselves are available, but not the actual specific applications.
You wanted to know if Framatome will deliver the process control technology for Paks 2? Well, maybe you want to ask this question to Framatome, please.
Next is the set of questions asked by Vladimir Slivyak. Mr. Slivyak, the question was, did we cover this question already? I forget now. No. I'll have to check, please. If we're reading things three times in a row, find it hard to understand which one has already been covered. For the sake of completeness, let me do this. You wanted to know whether the supply contract for the Paks II power station in Rosatom has been terminated? Yes, that contract has been terminated by the customer. Then you asked whether the Rosatom had it to Kuyu Turkish project has been terminated. This has not been the case.
There was a question about whether Siemens Energy has any contact with these Chinese companies that are replacing the plant not supplied by Siemens Energy in the Turkish power plant, Kuyu, and that the answer is no. Next question: Are there any supply contracts for Rosatom projects in other countries? The answer is no. Next question: What service contracts are there in place for nuclear reactors in Russia? I think I said that before, we don't have any in Russia. I had this question here twice.... You wanted to know how often our experts or experts by subcontractors have been visiting Russian nuclear power stations since the start of the war in Ukraine? There has been no visits of Siemens Energy employees or subcontractors to carry out such work.
That takes me to the three questions asked by Ms. Katrin Gutmann. You asked about Siemens Energy's plans for gas turbines in data centers in Europe. We are talking to data center operators and utility companies in Europe about providing services for data centers, but for reasons of confidentiality, we cannot give you any details about our project business. What is true is the demand in the U.S. is much higher than in Europe, because most of the model developments are happening in the United States. We are in talks with partners in Europe and in other parts of the world on data centers. Next question: Are there plans to grow or expand capacities for the production of gas turbines in Europe? Yes, there is. There are plans in Berlin and Finspång in Sweden.
Finally, are there already sites earmarked for investments in additional gas turbine production capacity in Europe? We've already started to look at Berlin and Finspång, and this is how we're growing our footprint. The expansion over the next couple of years will be carried out prudently in existing locations. Okay, those were the questions that were on my screen here, addressed to me, and now I'd like to ask the chairperson how we continue. It was quite a lot, actually. We should be talking about the Executive Board compensation instead of Supervisory Board, but maybe you do this next time. Maybe we continue with Maria.
No. No, there's no questions? Okay, no problem.
There's still suspense in the room, right? Let's continue with the third round of Q&A. Ladies and gentlemen, there's still quite a number of requests on our speakers list, and people want to ask their questions. There are two speakers who have withdrawn their request. We still have 10 people on the list, three from the Ethical Shareholders, which we're happy about. Let me remind you of what I said before, as Karl Valentin has said, "If everything has been said, it needs not be reiterated by everyone." With that encouragement in mind, and with due respect for those who want to speak up for the first time, can I ask Mr. Steurer to take the floor now? To be followed by Ms. Irma. Mr. Steurer, please.
Good afternoon, everyone. First off, I would like to know what the price tag of the virtual AGM was last year, and how much this year's AGM costs? The way the AGM is organized is excellent. I wouldn't have expected Berlin to be able to do something like this. An in-person meeting creates net output. This is certainly something that Berlin is happy to accept. Second question on the high share price of this company. You're wondering, is this a bubble? Is this sustainable, the share price? There's a few questions that this raises on profit and revenue. What is the difference in Europe, the US, China, and Germany? What is the relative share of revenue and profits, and are we still operating in Iran?
Questions on the profit situation of the four segments and the order situation. Gas Services, Grid Technologies, Gamesa, and Transformation of Industry and carbon-free economy. Can I question those different segments, those four segments? Because everyone wants to be climate neutral, or we have to be climate neutral going forward. How does your gas business make sense? Mr. Kaeser, you at the time have advocated or supported the candidacy of Annalena Baerbock for federal chancellor. If the Green Party had had their way, we would have to phase out gas anyway, with whatever consequences that would have meant. Be it as it may, the future of gas-powered stations or gas-fired power stations is finite, so we will be renewable going forward, be it wind energy, be it hydropower, be it nuclear.
This is where the future is, podcast. Any grid fluctuations can be compensated well with energy storage systems. You don't need a gas-fired station, natural gas fired power stations, only as an emergency firefighting reserve, if you will. Otherwise, there will not be a market for power stations, natural gas power stations, I think, in the years to come. It's a matter of the past. When it comes to Grid Technologies, if I remember correctly, Siemens used to be a world leader in telecommunications. No one remembers that name anymore. It's the Chinese that have taken over, not German companies. The same may happen with Grid Technologies, question mark? Do you think? Transformation of industries. Hydrogen, this is where we see a separation of the grain from the chaff.
Whether we will be part of the grain or the chaff, we don't know. Who can say? Wind power, Gamesa. I understand it's not profitable, can you tell me if there is a wind turbine anywhere in this world that produces electricity for EUR 0.04 per kilowatt hour? Only then would it make economic sense. Carbon fiber. I'm surprised that when people wanted to use carbon fibers for the construction business, no one's talking about it anymore. Everyone's rejected it. The car industry is not using carbon fibers any longer. If carbon fibers are comparable to asbestos in properties, no one so far has provided a reasonable answer. Can you build modern equipment without carbon fiber components?
If it turns out that carbon fibers are as dangerous as asbestos or as potentially harmful, then I don't think it makes sense to sell off Gamesa anymore, but we'll be engaged in damage compensation litigation for years. Any plans of how we are going about this? Finally, what about party fun, party finance, or party donations to political parties by the company? I'm under the impression that occasionally companies are buying in their way into politics and do political lobbying with funding projects when there are offshore attenders in conjunction with political leaders. How is the company involved in this? Finally, the Supervisory Board member, Mr. Gabriel, is known to be a lobbyist. I don't know what qualifies Mr.
Gabriel to be a member of a supervisory board in this company. I did some research. He studied sociology, German studies, and political sciences to become a grammar school teacher. Never worked as a teacher, though, or later on in adult education, and then swiftly moved into the political arena. For a long time, he has been a Minister of Economic Affairs. I have a special opinion on that, on Mr. Gabriel as a minister. I come from the Schwaben district, where KUKA is located as a company. Now, at the time, Mr. Gabriel got so worked up when the Chinese bought KUKA as an investor. Now, we're very happy that the Chinese have purchased KUKA because they were technologically outdated.
There are many robot manufacturers these days, and the fact alone that KUKA is still supplying to the German car industry was a benefit. Why was Mr. Gabriel opposed to the Chinese contractors to buy KUKA? There are many different bids provided by other Western investors, which were way too low. KUKA went for the fair deal offered to them by the Chinese OEM, and everybody was happy with this Chinese takeover. What I don't like with Mr. Gabriel is that he's also sitting on the board of Rheinmetall, which is not in line with the moral conceptions that I have. In the devastating war in Ukraine, there are winners and losers who are profiteering from the war in Ukraine.
The losers are clearly the Ukrainian people, soldiers who are dying every day on the battlefield. Ideally, this war should come to an end tomorrow. I wish for Ukrainians to have a democracy that is not corrupt, not corrupted, and not influenced by neither Russia nor the West. Once, that war is over, people in Ukraine will ask: Why has there been this war in the first place? Who has it been fought for, and why? This is where Rheinmetall and its huge profits will have to be asked this question as well.
Rheinmetall will also have to go and answer some questions. Thank you. Thank you. Next, Ms. Itmke Irma.
Dear shareholders, dear members of the board, Mr. Bruch, Mr. Kaeser, ladies and gentlemen, I'm also here on behalf of the umbrella organization, Critical Shareholders. I'm with the environmental organization. I'd like to talk about the turbine business. You talked about record profit, especially last year. The climate crisis is progressing until 2045. Germany has to become climate neutral, and that means the end of fossil gas use. The EU and other markets where Siemens Energy is located pursue binding decarbonization goals, so refitting of gas fired power plants to CO2 or to carbon hydrogen are necessary. Siemens Energy is one of the few global players successful with the turbines. They sell turbines and promise that these turbines will be able to be retrofitted to green hydrogen.
The H2-Readiness is what I'd like to focus on with my questions. Can you say with 100% assurance that all turbines that you sell today can technically be retrofitted to 100% green hydrogen? I'm not just interested in the retrofit ability, but the conditions under which the H2-Readiness has to be tested. We, especially in Germany, in the political debate, are talking about gas power plants that are built for the security of supply. A power plant that, as of 2045, would have to be operated based on green hydrogen, but can only be operated a few minutes, cannot fulfill its purpose and doesn't contribute to the security of supply in Germany. My concrete questions: Are your turbines H2 validated, so tested under continuous use?
Have all of these tests been carried out with 100% hydrogen? If so, for how many minutes did the tests take the H2 validity and H2 readiness tests? What are the results that were achieved? What are the results, especially in view of material durability, emissions, and if there were no test runs, how can you assure that a retrofitting is possible? Climate crisis is progressing and surprisingly and shockingly fast, we don't have any time. H2 ready doesn't mean H2 operationally ready on raw market conditions. The question is: What are the additional investments that are necessary for operators so that existing power plants can be retrofitted to 100% green hydrogen, for example, for fuel chambers in critical infrastructures, et cetera? I believe that Siemens Energy is taking climate change seriously.
You've mentioned that repeatedly. I'd like to point out that you have a corporate responsibility. Your turbines are built on a life cycle of 20 to 40 years and with regard to a decarbonization strategy with green hydrogen. The general question is, has it been taken into consideration that external factors can have an impact on the run-up of green hydrogen? The hydrogen run-up is not where it should be. Whether green hydrogen can be available in due time to really focus on green hydrogen as a decarbonization strategy. What is your alternative if green hydrogen is not available in sufficient volumes? Do you focus on blue hydrogen or CCS? CCS is expensive and disputed. Blue hydrogen still has a lot of methane emissions.
Do you think that CCS for gas-fired power plants can be used in a large scale? What are the separating quotas that you expect? How do you try to achieve a decarbonization of the energy system? How can you ensure that you don't focus on business models that are not socially acceptable in the long run? We, as society, we, as Siemens Energy, are at a turning point. You've mentioned that repeatedly. You can be a company that, in the short term, benefits from fossil fuels and make some good profits for a couple of years, or you can be a company that designs and shapes a future viable energy concept. Siemens Gamesa as an example.
All shareholders carry responsibility for the strategic outlook of the company. Do not consider this as criticism from the outside, but the appeal for strategic honesty and a long-term view for the future of the company. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you also for the precise, clear, and short presentation. Moving on to Mr. Moritz Leiner, followed by Mr. Jan Maas. Mr. Leiner, for now, the floor is yours.
Ladies and gentlemen, management, supervisory board, my name is Moritz Leiner. I also work for the environmental organization, Urgewald, and I represent the umbrella organization of ethical shareholders. The criticism or the central role of Siemens Energy in the gas turbine market has been mentioned repeatedly. You, Mr.
Kaeser, said: "If everything has been said already, we don't need to repeat it." I would like you to do the same with regard to the answers and go a little bit more into detail. My questions are worded correspondingly. What hasn't been mentioned today is that your absolute Scope 3 emissions from 2024 to 2025 increased again. The same had happened from 2023 to 2024, and this has not yet been mentioned here, and I think you cannot excuse yourself from stating market developments. You are responsible for your role in the context of the climate crisis. I'm asking you, what are the measures that the Sustainability and Finance Committee of the Supervisory Board of Siemens Energy has taken to reduce the Scope 3 pollution?
As of 2025, you want to use an intensity-based approach for your Scope 3 decarbonization goal. What about the absolute goal to reduce them by 28% until 2030? You have always communicated that at the last AGM. I also asked that question. You answered it. Is this absolute goal null and void now? Transparency, I think, looks differently, and if it is null and void, I think it is a capitalization as far as the climate goals are concerned. On the details of the intensity goal, you said until the financial year or fiscal year 2030, you want to have a relative reduction of emissions by at least 50% from the usage of sold products, but in the fiscal year 2025, you already have achieved reductions of 49%.
Is your goal for the next four years to reduce the emission intensity in Scope 3 downstream by one more percentage point? Do you think that in view of your expanding gas business, this is appropriate? You also write in your management report that you currently do have no transition plan for climate protection, but you actively reviewed the development of a transition strategy. What's the difference between this transition strategy and a transition plan? When do you want to present the strategy, and based on what emission reduction path goals do you want to design your portfolio? Do you want to have the Scope 3 downstream emissions of your company and follow it according to the 1.5 degree goal, and if so, until when?
We've also heard something about the fossil backlash that is drifting into the authoritarian Trump government, et cetera. In this context, we also see the current figures and forecasts. The order backlog is full. My concrete question is: How many new plants has Siemens Energy for LNG projects and for gas projects in 2025? What do you think about the order situation for 2026? I'd like you to differentiate between LNG projects and tell us the names and the capacity of the concrete projects. What are the additional greenhouse gases by LNG on the one hand, and natural gas projects on the other hand? Please break it down according to Scope 1, 2, and 3.
What's the percentage point of these orders in comparison to the overall revenue of Siemens Energy, and what other projects that involve fossil fuels is Siemens Energy involved? I have another question: Until when are your gas turbines fully booked? I heard something about 2030. Concrete question: What are the waiting times that customers have to expect, customers who order gas turbines now? Please differentiate according to small, 20 MW, medium, 20 MW-100 MW, and large-scale gas turbines, 100 MW-600 MW. Another aspect is that Siemens Energy is lobbying the federal government, not just with regard to the power plant strategy, but also foreign economic promotion, and it wants to benefit from fossil fuels, gas power plants.
This is in opposition to the environmental goals of the federal government, and we heard today that you feel obliged to pursue the Paris environmental goals. Which of your gas projects received state guarantees in 2025? What is the total amount of these guarantees? What share are export guarantees, and what share of that is Euler Hermes as a German export credit agency, and what is the share of other export credit agencies? Ladies and gentlemen, Siemens Energy is currently determining the further construction of new fuel, fossil fuel-based power plants.
We would like to warn you that the medium and long-term risks of this fossil business fuels business model cannot be ignored, so that they end up in a trap that is similar to the one that is currently being experienced by the German automotive industry. Thank you very much.
Thank you very much, Mr. Leiner. Moving on to Mr. Maas. Jan Maas, the floor is yours.
Yeah, Jan Maas. I'm Jan Maas.
Jan Maas, I'm a small shareholder.
I will try to be brief. Ladies and gentlemen, I have a concrete question directed at you, Mr. Kaeser. You made a statement: "There is not a single nuclear power plant in this world that is economically feasible." I dare to question this statement. Numerous countries, numerous companies make the decision to invest in nuclear power plants. I'm not going to go into the whole list of details, but even in Europe, Fortum in Finland, EDF Nuclear, Electrica, et cetera, et cetera. The question to you, Mr. Kaeser, France, for example, per capita, emits considerably less CO2 than Germany. How do they achieve that? EUR 16 billion-EUR 18 billion from the federal budget are spent on renewables, so basically, these are subsidies. If I understood it correctly, the management of Siemens Energy requests state money for gas-fired power plants.
I also heard that the board member, Amin, sees a renaissance of nuclear power. Directly at you, Mr. Kaeser, the question: how does all of this go together? What's your opinion? Hav e you changed it with regard to nuclear power? Thank you.
Thank you. With this, we have Ms. Brigitta Kauers as the next speaker, and followed by Luka Schmaderer. Frau Kauers, the floor is yours.
Yeah. Dr. Brigitta Kauers.
Dr. Brigitta Kauers, this is the first time ever that I attend an AGM.
Do you like it?
Hmm?
Do you like it?
Well, it's a little lengthy. If you have a proposal on how to shorten it, we'll gladly take that up. I also don't have a prepared speech. I had the idea for this question or this appeal that came to me during the event. With your introductory speech, Mr. Kaeser, you mentioned the company's commitment to support Ukraine, and I wanted to ask you to be more concrete. Mr. Bruch already mentioned it. You said the training initiative and the supply of components, et cetera. In 2022, I brought a small Ukrainian family to Berlin, helped them to find an apartment, et cetera, et cetera. What I haven't succeeded in so far is to find a job for one of these ladies. I can't do that.
I looked at the Reconstruction for Ukraine platform and asked them to use their opportunities and their connections. Well-trained Ukrainians don't need training slots. They have, you know, backgrounds, master's degrees in economics and other subjects. They need to learn German, but now they get weird offers in job centers, and I understand that they don't accept them. We castigate them for that because they get social assistance, and they'd like to work, but they'd like to work based on what they've trained in.
My appeal, my request to you is, as I just said, my idea is that Siemens Energy should think about whether it's part of or whether it should be part of solidarity, that 5, 6, or 10 of these already trained Ukrainian women, mostly it's women, could be given the opportunity to work in their companies in HR, in finances. I mean, this is an appeal to the representatives of other companies present here as well, to Mr. Gabriel and his excellent relationships into the Social Democrats as a former Minister of Economic Affairs. Think along the lines of solidarity, also meaning that already trained people giving good jobs, and that would lead to a win-win situation.
With regards to Siemens Energy, I'd like to say the following: Siemens Energy might give the possibility to 10 young women to get to know the company and familiarize themselves with the corporate strategy and the communication stream. Ukrainians don't have to apply for social benefits any longer. When these ladies return to their home country, and those that I know actually intend to go back to their home country, then Siemens Energy will have skilled workers in Ukraine because you want to be present in the country as well, with your products and your company as in general. The Ukrainians that work for you here at Siemens Energy and all the other different companies as well, that you gave an opportunity to, do not depend on the goodwill on some Ukrainian oligarchs, but they are free and independent.
They don't have to give in to the temptations of being corrupted. These are your staff members, which can work for you in Ukraine. They can stand up for you there, work for you there, and fight for you there. That's my demand and my appeal to you. Thank you.
Would you like to answer that one directly?
Shall we do that directly? Yes, fair enough. I don't need a long preparation for that. Let me just tell you what we do in Ukraine. Today, we already have staff members working in Ukraine who are working on site, but today also, we have a lot more than 10 Ukrainian workers doing their job for us, where they are also included in our educational programs. We've got very good Ukrainian headcount.
I can't give you the figure as of now, but this is what we focus on in a targeted approach. This is part of our own commitment. I, on behalf of the G7, which are also donor countries, by the way, worked in the Business Advisory Council, which I even chaired. These are the international companies which help support Ukraine. I was the chairman of this council. I meet President Zelensky on a regular basis, and we try to do everything in our power to do what we can do. Of course, you can always do more, but these are exactly the topics that we're currently working on. It is still very difficult, though, for a large number of Ukrainian refugees to find a job here. We are making everything possible. We leave no stone unturned.
I think you don't have to convince anyone in the company of Siemens Energy. We are deeply convinced of that. Leading all the way up to me in my position, this is one of our utmost priorities, and as I said before, we do everything in our power. I don't know whether the lady that you referred to sent an application to us. Of course, she would have to go through the normal application process, but this is actually one of our utmost priorities, because we're also planning further strategies for Ukraine. We're actively committed to that region, and we have donated money. We try to exert political influence, and we will continue to do so in the future.
Now, let me rephrase the statement of the Board as follows: ask the two ladies that you referred to send an application to Siemens Energy, and then we'll take it from there. Is that okay?
Fair enough. Okay.
On to the next speaker. Mr. Lukas Maderer, followed by Volker Schulz. I think I've said that name before. Mr. Schulz takes the floor for the 2nd time. Never mind, but Mr. Maderer comes first.
Hello, and good afternoon, Mr. Kaeser, members of the Board, members of the Supervisory Board, dear shareholders. My name is Lukas Maderer, and I speak on behalf of the Association of Ethical Shareholders. I'd like to start off by asking the following question of our partner organization, GegenStrömung.
My questions are the following ones: First of all, in which particular worldwide power plant project, and please name the different projects, is Siemens Energy involved since it was founded in the year 2020, as well as after it left the joint venture with Voith Hydro in March 2022? Be it due to the supply of generators, electrical equipment, modernization strategies, consultancy services, or service agreements. If you cannot list all the individual projects separately, how high is the general percentage of projects given, in which particular countries or in which particular regions can they be found? How about the distribution of your portfolio for new installations and retrofits of already existing plants? How many current service or maintenance agreements do you currently have, under which conditions, and when will they expire?
Second question: In which particular type does Siemens Energy revise the environmental compatibility with power plant agreements that the company is involved in, or where it delivers pieces of equipment? We'd like to ask the following information: Siemens Energy, do you carry out a comprehensive life cycle analysis of greenhouse gas emissions with regards to methane in particular? Which reference values or threshold values or standards are being adhered to, and for which reasons? The results of these analyses, which influence do they have on investment or supply agreements? If such analyses do not exist systematically, why are they not being carried out on a regular basis? How does Siemens Energy try to ensure that with regards to the water plant, human rights standards and environmental standards are being complied with, especially with regards to the right of indigenous groups of the population and compensational payments.
How can they be guaranteed and implemented and be controlled? Please explain which particular binding criteria and principles are being applied, and how their compliance is being supervised in the course of the implementation of the project. If there are any major violations, which consequences does that entail? After the questions asked by our partner organization, GegenStrömung, I would now like to express our own questions that we address based on our countermotion. Let's make tomorrow different today. This is the core slogan of the shareholders' companies, which is encouraging, but at the same time, we realize that this is not at all in line with the reality of our corporate strategy. A company which talks about transformation must not address the basic pillars which generate its stability, first the foundation and then the rest. This is not exactly what is happening with regards to the foundation.
The Siemens Energy site in Erlangen fired Mrs. Pape, as Mr. Wienand already mentioned, on the 12th of November, 2025, without any further reasons. I would like to quote from our countermotion on agenda item 4: According to the report, Mrs. Pape was put under tremendous pressure. The IG Metall expressed solidarity in public, Mrs. Pape had to use supportive measures and legal protection. The lawyer commissioned by Mrs. Pape indicated that an acceleration of the proceedings that the court had proposed was not agreed on by the company. The judge in the court in Lüneburg said that there were no appropriate reasons mentioned. This is, you know, normally a company where people enjoy working conditions, you know, therefore, this case is particularly striking and leads to the following question.
First of all, with regards to the management in Erlangen, criticism was expressed that the works council cannot act according to the provisions. The Works Constitution Act is thus violated in Article 919. An internal review was carried out in order to find out whether the board of management committed a criminal offense, which would have to lead to a situation where penalties be imposed. How high are the provisions for the proceeding costs and the lawyer's cost? Secondly, are you familiar with the fact that the Siemens Energy Business Conduct Guidelines, adopted by yourself on page 12, stipulate, with regards to the freedom of association, that the current proceeding Does we request you to comply with internal standards? Was this considered to be a compliance case?
I'm not asking about the legal result of the termination procedure, but I'm rather wanting to find out about our corporate policy. Is this data or not? Thirdly, are any HR consequences envisaged for the works council, which will be tested by an independent compliance entity with regards to the analysis of violations? Will the HR department act independently on the way in which our internal provisions are being interpreted? Fourth question: as already mentioned before, many employees at Siemens Energy are very happy and satisfied with their job. How can this particular outlier be explained in the rather stable corporate culture? Has the management slept on this occasion? You know, how about transparency and corporate culture, which needs to be filled with light? That calls for additional supervision and additional solidarity.
We do have our doubts that in this case, an independent decision can be made. Yes, in our countermotion, we spoke about a conflict of interest, which is quite obvious. Veronika Grimm is also an advisor to the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, as we already mentioned. While the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy works with the European Commission, according to Article 107(3)(c), pursued to the EU Commission. Siemens Energy could really benefit from. During the last AGM, Joe Kaeser said that there was no conflict of interest between them and Veronika Grimm because the public tendering would not have to be revised. My question is the following one: First of all, Veronika Grimm, how would you, against the backdrop of this new condition as an advisor of the Ministry, evaluate the conflict of interest?
Should maybe some new light be shed onto the case compared to the situation in the previous year? Your additional activities, was this considered to be a potential compliance case, and if so, which was the result of this examination, of this investigation? Ladies and gentlemen, those people who say, "Let's make tomorrow different today," needs to be taking action today, and this is the yardstick that we need to apply to Siemens Energy. Thank you so much for your attention.
Thank you so much, Mr. Schmaderer. On to the next speaker. Let me just clarify two more points.
situation from Frau Grimm eingegangen.
I already spoke about the potential conflict of interest of Mr. Grimm, and I also told you what the position of the supervisory board on this particular topic was. I think the question has already been answered. Secondly, I'm not sure whether this HR-related matter concerning Mrs. Pape, I don't know her in person, by the way, should really be discussed at the AGM. You might be interested in knowing, especially our colleagues who come from the region, that the Works Council approved of this particular measure to be taken. This was not necessary, the Works Council approved of this, and this is what should make you think twice. That's all I want to say for the time being. Over to Mr. Schulz. Second time he takes the floor. Mr. Schulz. Yeah. Thank you very much. I don't have to say hello again.
I'll be succinct. I asked 10 questions. Question number 6, 7, 9, and 10 remain unanswered, mind you. I asked you to present particular dates to us. I'll also discuss this with lawyer Dr. Lamas and ask for a follow-up answering round. There... Well, the second half of question number 10 remains completely unanswered. Second question: In March 2023, Siemens Gamesa and RWE, a German energy supplier, signed a big skeleton agreement about the shipment of wind turbines of approximately 100 gigawatt onshore and 100 gigawatt offshore. You know, there was a wonderful press release on this particular topic. Following questions: RWE, did it receive the freshers 5.X turbines? How did it react to the production stop of the 5.X turbines? RWE, did it ask for compensational payments to be made by Siemens Gamesa?
Is there a settlement, an economic settlement, that was entered into as a consequence of this framework agreement? Thank you very much. Mr. Swell Honing refrained from asking a question. Mr. Reynold Vogt had to rush off to catch his train. I met him at the rostrum over there. He will send us an email. electrolysis with ocean water, salt, and turbine electricity. Of course, we can't answer this one right now, but he promised me to send me an email for him to be given an answer. Okay, fair enough. If I am not mistaken, Mrs. Regine Richter is the last speaker on our list for today's meeting. Mrs. Richter, take your tim e.
The previous speakers were all very brief, so you've got plenty of time. Thank you very much. My name is Regine from the environmental organization, Urgewald, where I have a follow-up question.
You made mention of the fact in your answers, Mr. Bruch, concerning the Mozambique LNG, that you enter into risk areas if this serves the purpose of the economic activity or the progress of the company. With regards to Mozambique and LNG, this is not at all the case. Mozambique had to incur a tremendous debt for the project, and revenues from the gas project are based on unfavorable agreements. Up until the '40s, this might be upheld because TotalEnergies has incurred additional costs due to the ending of the project, which are called for in compensational patients. In Mozambique, corruption is of the essence, and nobody really knows what will end up with the general population. The local economy does not benefit from this at all, because now the project was thwarted off by the military.
Apart from jobs at the construction site, no economic activity is taking place. My follow-up question is: What are the economic advantages of the project in Mozambique LNG? In this context, we'd like to recommend to you to get into contact with the Mozambican organization, JAR, which knows all the ins and outs, especially with regards to the high level of indebtedness. They are auditing the entire case from a positive angle. An additional point, Levinus Liwiak already had to leave, but his statement is the following: Since solidarity is so important with Ukraine, wouldn't it also be very important to terminate the contracts with NovaWind? It is a subsidiary of Rosatom, and we know which role Rosatom plays in the Russian economy. Thank you very much. Thank you so much. Now, this marks the end of the speeches.
The speakers list was closed at a quarter past three. Now, all the shareholders were given the possibility to take the floor and make comments or ask questions. Not all the questions have yet been answered. Therefore, let's now start off with a new round of answers. Are the experts already prepared for that? Yes. Let me start off with it, and let's see how far we get.
Please give me a second. I'm losing my voice as it seems.
There were four more questions on my list asked by Ms. Katrin Gutmann. Even though this is a repetition, but they are still on my list. You wanted to know about the adjustments of our investment plans in order to get out of the worldwide, and especially U.S. American, business with gas turbines. As I said before, we are not trying to get out of the business activities with gas turbines, and therefore, our investment plans have not been revised. Let me just explain the following, because there are so many questions asked about gas, non-gas, gas turbines, and non-gas turbines. I think we are all in agreement with each other that we are in the middle of a climate crisis. We are in a situation where we all hope that companies will understand much, but that we have to invest money.
It costs a lot. We need to become aware of that. The question is, how much is affordable, available, and sustainable? What is the right path into the future? We think that gas turbines can make a very important contribution. Therefore, we also try to further these developments in this regard. Let me just give you 2 examples. The most rapidly growing fossil areas was coal in the energy sector. That is a drama, because we have to do everything in our power in order to get coal out of the energy system as quickly as possible. This makes it necessary for us to use gas. Secondly, a very good field project that's being carried out in the U.S., which shows you what happens if we don't deliver gas turbines, then other things will be installed.
Much less efficient method based on gas engines, small systems with poor performances, and this is a really much poorer solution. That is, you know, the things you have to weigh out with each other. I think we are all convinced of the fact that we would like to see a situation where CO2 emissions could be brought down much more rapidly, but this is a reality that we've got to become aware of. In this gray zone, we try to come up with solutions which make us better and better every day, and this is why we put a very strong focus on specific solutions that help us reduce CO2 emissions further, even though it's only tiny steps taking us into the right direction.
It affects all of us individually based on the decision that we take on where we spend money in order to become more sustainable.
It's also why I consider Scope 3 emissions to be rather difficult. Why? Because this is not an abstract somebody, but it's all of us. It's us, it's our societies, and many societies try to evade the question when push comes to shove. Building 10 new coal-powered, coal-fired stations to generate electricity is much worse than building highly efficient gas-fired stations. I just wanted to make the point here, because this is, there's this repeated criticism here. We don't need to agree on this, but what I think we all need to agree on is we need to do more for climate action. Not all countries in the world subscribe to that philosophy.
You ask whether gas turbines for gas power stations in Germany or Europe can be delayed because we need to replace or need to ship gas turbines to data centers. Today, because there's a high demand of gas turbines, therefore, we talk about delivery dates of 2029 and 2030. We're planning to double our production capacities almost by 2030. Therefore, we can factor in new projects, additional projects, like data centers, without delaying any existing projects. Next question: What is the Executive Board doing with the ongoing criticism about the growing of data centers or data center development in the U.S.? I think we need to realize that you cannot turn back the wheel of artificial intelligence or the need for data centers. I mean, everybody's using AI day in, day out.
The energy requirement for data centers brings up relevant and valid questions like carbon emissions, land consumption, water consumption. We believe, however, that highly efficient gas turbines, Grid Technologies, and solutions to integrated renewable energies are a major contribution to emissions reduction. We are currently picking and choosing the right projects, especially in the United States. It depends on what we are talking about here, but so far, projects that we are involved in are in a if you will, in quotes, "normal" implementation. Do you think, question, next question is, should Siemens Energy turn away from gas turbine and just do wind turbines, renewable energies for power grids, batteries, and clean flexibility? First off, I told you before that we're growing our grid portfolio.
Despite the losses, we're investing in wind energy, continue to invest in wind energy. We're not planning to fundamentally change our portfolio as you are suggesting. However, we are changing our portfolio along the lines of the growing demands of industry and energy transition. There's something we have on our radar screen. We do assume that at some point in the future, new gas power stations will no longer be built as now, and service business remains, but the general trajectory is going down. That also means that we always have to adjust our project portfolio. I'd like to continue with Mr. Steurer's questions now. You wanted to know whether the current higher share price of Siemens Energy is a bubble or whether it's sustainable?
The share price is a stock market variable. It reflects the expectations of investors. We are focusing on making our company more profitable and resilient, and the share price is determined by the stock market, not by the executive board, unfortunately, I should add. You are asking about relative comparison of revenue and profits of Siemens Energy in Europe, U.S., China, and Germany. In Europe, this year's Greater Middle East, Africa, EMEA in other words, is EUR 20.7 billion, out of which EUR 3.8 billion of revenue. America, EUR 11.9 billion, out of which USA is EUR 8.7 billion of revenue. Asia and Australia, EUR 6.5 billion, including China of EUR 1.5 billion.
The after-taxes profit on the group level was EUR 1.7 billion in fiscal 2025. We do not publish our profit distribution by regions. You wanted to know whether Siemens Energy is present in Iran. For years, we have not concluded any new business in Iran. We have existing commitments from contracts that are met in long national, international sanctions. With the developments in the past years, our service activities have been significantly reduced. You wanted to know how much the virtual AGM has cost last year. Last year's, we spent about EUR 1.5 million on the AGM, and you wanted to know about the cost of this year's AGM. Sorry, I'm not talking about billions here. We're talking about euros and dividends instead of cents.
No, this year's AGM has cost EUR 2.7 million. Yeah, maybe you meant to talk about the next 1,000 AGMs in the next couple of years, right? All of them together would be a compound value of billions rather than millions. There we are. EUR 2.7 million was the indicator for this year. The next one, is Siemens Energy a leader in grid technology, and could the history of Siemens and telecommunications repeat? Well, when it comes to power transmission, Siemens Energy is a world leader for switchgear, transformers, and grid stabilization systems. We are currently a top performer on the global market. We are convinced that this is a strategy that will allow us to stand our ground in the growth markets under fair competitive situation, I should say.
It also means that we continue to grow our portfolio on an ongoing basis. You want to know whether there are wind power generators that can produce electricity of EUR 0.04. When you talk about the levelized cost of energy of euro cents per kilowatt hours, the answer is yes, it depends on the region and the wind conditions. You ask whether there is a plan of classification of carbon fibers as harmful, which would mean litigation. Well, given the latest in science and labor medicine, carbon fibers are different, fundamentally different from asbestos. As far as science knows today, carbon fibers could perform in the human lung the same way asbestos fibers may.
However, with customary manufacturing and use, no such asbestos-like threats may occur or risks may occur. Also, we have no plans to use carbon fibers in production, therefore, we are not speculating on carbon fibers. Next question was about party funding and lobbying. Siemens Energy is not paying financial contributions to political parties. We have a clear compliance framework. We are politically neutral. We are meeting all national and international transparency prescription for lobbying activities. Our spending in Germany is tantamount to EUR 2 million per fiscal year to associations, et cetera. You have asked, Sorry. Sorry, that was the wrong one. I already skipped to Ms. Irma's question. My mistake. You wanted to know whether all turbines sold today can be retrofitted to green hydrogen? Well, that is the objective.
All of our gas turbine portfolio should be used with green fuels and hydrogen. Gas turbines that can be purchased today can be retrofitted. However, what is important is what happens to a power station. In other words, there's a balance of plant and additional structural requirements that have to be met to retrofit existing plants to use hydrogen. We work with plant manufacturers and operators. We do not see any technological obstacles that would prevent the use of 100% of hydrogen as fuel. You wanted to know if there's already real testing of full load conditions with 100% hydrogen in turbines, and what the results of such testing was, and how conversion to green hydrogen can be carried out if no test runs have taken place.
We have successfully tested both burners and complete systems with pure hydrogen under full load. We have those tests taking place near Berlin and in Sweden, and in the Hyflexpower project in France. We operate an industrial gas turbine in a paper mill power plant with 100% hydrogen fuel. Tests were successful, they met our expectations, and they demonstrate that we can burn 100% hydrogen under various load conditions. Until full market launch, further tests would be required. H2-Readiness, as it is also called, has been certified for several gas turbine types by TÜV SÜD, based on component tests over several hours. Long-term testing for materials and components have been and are being carried out in our test centers.
Long-term tests of the entire system, however, require very large quantities of hydrogen, which we do not yet have available in our test centers and pilot plants. We have to carry out these tests externally at the customer's premises in real power stations with the appropriate connection to a hydrogen pipeline, so that will happen later. You also asked about additional investments required to convert existing plants to 100% use of green hydrogen. Currently, we cannot quantify this because we don't know when a retrofit will take place. Therefore, this is why we do not factor in that cost component in a project. You have asked about alternative, if and when a green hydrogen is not available. It's the operator to decide what fuel to be used.
Our gas turbines are generally compatible with various types of gases, like ammonium or green ammonia, other types of renewable fuels, but it's for the operator to decide, for the manufacturer. You have asked whether we are relying on fossil gas beyond 2045. We remain committed to the gas business because these flexible control capacities are required. With what fuels, it remains to be seen. Modern, highly efficient gas-fired power plants support the energy transition because they reduce emissions and in the long term, can be converted to hydrogen. How this will play out in 2045 compared to this year is not something we can say at this point. You also mentioned CCS.
CCS or CCUS, technologies for carbon capture and storage and utilization, it is an option for gas-fired power stations. When it comes to the economic efficiencies, the high investments to build an overall plant should be borne in mind. I do assume, however, that part of future projects, they can be equipped with this type of CCS, CCUS components. Again, it'll only be part of the overall investment portfolio. Not all sites may lend themselves to this technology. It's usually in places where the plant has a long lifetime, where you can store carbon or CO2, and where pipelines are available. The next question was, the carbon capture storage rates are realistic. We're not involved in CCS systems.
We partner with contractors who can build such installations. Therefore, the capture and storage quota needs to be discussed with the operators. The next question is about how the costs of Scope 3 emissions can be factored in. Well, they correspond to international standards. They are calculated as part of the overall share of emissions of a project. There was a question: How do you make sure that we're not using business models that are neither climate friendly nor socially acceptable? Well, we check all of our portfolio projects for economic, ecological, and social standards. We do that in R&D. I said that earlier.
Generally, this is part of all of our due diligence processes, and this is also why we produce sustainability reports, to show you what progress we're making and where the challenges lie in order to put that into practice in a growing energy market or electricity market. Which brings me to the questions asked by Mr. Leitner. The first was, what is the absolute target for reducing Scope 3 emissions by 2030, and whether this target has been achieved? Since 2019, we have reduced 8% of our Scope 3 downstream emissions from the use phase of our products, and in the same period, reduced the emission intensity of the use phase of our products by 49%. The continuous reduction of the emission intensity of our product portfolio is a key focus in this regard.
Regardless of all this, we will continue to report absolute Scope 3 downstream emissions in the future as well. The fact of the matter is that because of the current gas demand, those emissions also will change. We'll focus on our activities there. You ask whether our target for the next 4 years is to just 1 percentage point reduction in Scope 3. We have already reduced our Scope 3 downstream emissions by 49%. We've come a long way. The intensity reduction will go to at least 50% by 2030. It doesn't sound much. It may not sound like a big reduction, but you have to put that into context of the gas production market, which is just an averaged value.
Further reduction will depend on market conditions, on the customer decisions, and generally, the global energy demand. You want to hear about the difference about or the distinction between a transition plan and a transition strategy for climate action. In our annual report, we regularly report in accordance with the CSRD requirements. The terms transition plan or climate transition plan are used as synonyms. We regularly review the development of such a plan in line with market conditions and also the legal framework. Once again, on Scope 3, your question was about the 1.5-degree compliant reduction pathway. That we've mentioned several times today, we support the Paris Climate Accord. We have set ambitious interim targets, and our focus is on those emissions that we can directly influence ourselves. You asked questions on gas projects and LNG projects.
In 2025, in the fiscal year, we sold a total of 194 gas turbines, which also included orders for 6 gas turbines for LNG-fired power plants. We cannot, unfortunately, provide a complete list of orders because we have confidentiality agreements with our customers in many cases, and particularly this is true for the financial volume of the contract. It's the customer that sets the rules, essentially. There are a number of examples from 2025, which in clude the Kuo Kuang 2 power plant in Taiwan, with a plant capacity of 1,200 megawatts, Rumah 2 and Nairyah 2 in Saudi Arabia, with a total capacity of 3,600 megawatts. In the first quarter of 2026, we have recorded an order intake of 102 gas turbines.
We calculate Scope 3 emissions by customers in accordance with international standards, i.e., in the year the order is received for the entire service life. We expect Scope 3 emissions to remain at around the 2019 level till the end of the decade. For emissions from Scope 1 and 2, so our own operations, we've put together a package of measures to achieve our 2030 climate neutrality target. We've set ourselves the goal of reducing emissions by at least 60%, and we'll then offset remaining emissions.
You want to know the percentage or the share and percentage points of gas and LNG orders in the total revenue of Siemens Energy, and in what other projects with fossil energy Siemens Energy is participating? This is under the remit of our Gas Services, where we achieved around EUR 12 billion of revenue last year. The new plant business made up 34% of the revenue, but we also have orders from the areas digitalization and control that are not all part of gas-fired power plant projects. In addition to the business with components and services for gas-fired power plants and the transport and of fossil energies like compressors, we also have a number of services, but we're not involved in the new construction of coal power plants.
We have a discussion regarding delivery dates in 2029 and 2030, as far as our gas turbines are concerned. You'd like to know what the waiting times for customers are at the moment when they order gas turbines, broken down into small, medium-sized, and big gas turbines. Because of the high demand, the delivery times, despite our capacity expansions, depend according to the size of the gas turbine. Smaller models can be delivered a year faster than big turbines. The individual conditions can differ from project to project. The earlier components are ordered and the more optimized the plans are made, times can be reduced. We currently discuss with our customers for big gas turbines delivery dates in 2029 and 2030. I still have 1 question by Ms. Gutmann.
Maybe you will have to look at this because I think I answered that 3 times already. Let's see. Let me answer Mr. Schmaderer's questions. You asked about the hydrogen projects that Siemens Energy was participating in since 2020, especially after leaving the joint venture with Voith Hydro. Since it was founded, Siemens Energy has been active in the field of hydrogen projects from 2022 to 2026. We can list around 130 individual projects. Most of them are modernizations of implemented controlled technology systems for existing hydrogen power plants, including pump storage and services, 20 projects for during the past fiscal year. Most of the projects were implemented and executed in Europe, with a focus on Austria, Italy, and Switzerland.
A few orders from the U.S., Germany, U.K., and Mexico, and one service project in Croatia, Portugal, Luxembourg, China, Philippines, Turkey, and Vietnam, respectively. The only new installation of control technology was done in Mexico in 2024. Siemens Gamesa sells, develops, and produces generators for hydrogen power plants. This business achieves a revenue of around EUR 20 million with an average of 25 orders. All generators are manufactured in our Reynosa facilities and delivered from there to sites all over the world. With this, I have answered the question as detailed as possible. I cannot list the individual projects. This cannot be done without the consent of our customers.
You also asked in which extent or how Siemens Energy reviews the climate viability of hydrogen projects, whether life cycle analyses are carried out, especially with a view to methane, what the framework of reference is, or what standards are applied. In 2021, Siemens Energy passed its generator competencies in the field of hydrogen to its then joint venture partner. Since then, our engagement is concentrated on the operational control technology for hydrogen's power plants since 2022. This is mostly the modernization of already implemented control systems and other services that need to be covered according to our due diligence processes. You also asked about the compliance with international human rights and environmental standards in regard to our hydrogen projects.
I've already mentioned this, but let me again point out our participation in hydrogen projects is limited to the supply of technical systems like turbines or transformers. You also want to know whether management initiated an internal review of a potential crime according to Paragraph 119 of the Works Constitution Act, and how high the provisions for legal and process costs are. We have not done this. As far as current proceedings are concerned, this is done by the labor law, by the responsible labor court, and it's in good hands there, and I'm not going to go into details here.
I've repeatedly pointed out with regard to the issue of works counselor Isabella Pape, that this is before court, and it's being reviewed. I ask for your understanding that this is not an issue to be discussed at an AGM. Ms. Richter, moving on to your questions. You referred to a previous answer I gave and asked about the economic advantages of the Mozambique LNG project in view of the costs for the state of Mozambique. My answer is always focuses on Siemens Energy.
I cannot tell you what the overall costs for the state of Mozambique are, because this is something that is being discussed between the operator and the investor, the state of Mozambique, before the backdrop of solidarity with Ukraine, whether it would be consistent to discontinue the agreements with Akuo, as they are beneficial for Rosatom. We need to adhere to legacy agreements, and this project was planned prior to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Fulfilling the contract is currently paused, and I think we haven't answered all of the questions yet. There's still a couple of things that are being prepared. We still have three, four, five questions that have not yet been answered, and I suggest that I answer the questions asked to me.
Luka Schmaderer asked me about the compliance process for Professor Grimm. You asked whether there was a compliance review with regard to Professor Grimm's role at the Ministry of economic affairs. The answer is, well, naturally, we carried out a review, and everything is in line with current law. I'd also like to point out that you should refer to what I answered when answering Mr. Schmidt's question. There was another question on economic viability of nuclear power plants. I once said that I'm not familiar of any nuclear power plant that is economically feasible.
I still am not aware of any existing nuclear power plant in today's structure that makes economic sense when you start all the way at the level of approval and storage and final storage, that can take up to 2,000 years. This is impossible to do. You cannot do this economically. You cannot calculate it. You don't know what's going to happen in 2,000 years if this nuclear waste enters groundwater because of geothermic shifts. That's why these power plants can also not be insured. It's impossible to do that, and that's why there aren't any private nuclear power plants, because you can be assured if this were to be economically feasible, there would be enough private equity companies that would like to make a profit and would have jumped on that bandwagon immediately.
If the legal situation is in place and the governments and countries guarantee the final storage of nuclear waste, well, okay, then it might be economically feasible, but then it's not a calculation for private industry. Secondly, it was pointed out that France has a large number of nuclear power plants, more than 50, I think 58. In the summertime, not even half of them are connected to the grid, and this is due to the fact that the rivers that are used to cool the power plants don't have enough water, and I think this also should not be forgotten. If a country, a national economy, a people decides we want to have nuclear power because we want to have a basic supply, then this is the decision of a country, a government, or a people.
If it's a democratic decision, it's an entirely different story. You can do that. It also doesn't run counter to what Karim Amin said, that there is a renaissance of nuclear power. Well, yes, with the so-called SMRs, it could happen. Doesn't have to. We don't know that yet, but it could happen. It could definitely happen if we tried to copy the sun here on Earth with fusion instead, if we tried fusion. Instead of fission. I don't know, you see, I'm trying to bridge the time here a little bit, at the end of the day, sustainability, the issue of sustainability can only be solved if along the entire value chain, we become sustainable. Why am I saying this?
I'm saying this because there's an interesting fact, and the colleagues who focused more on the environmental and social policy issues during the second round of questions, I'm saying this directed at you as well. If today the entire world would become electric, all cars run electrically, all trains run electrically, all planes fly electrically, I don't really know how that is supposed to work, but let's assume it. We would need seven times as many mines, the mines in mountains, in the earth, as we currently have. Seven times as many. Copper, everything, all of these expensive raw materials. Then I'd like to see the activism. Seven times, not 7% more, not 77%, no, seven times more.
My grandchildren would say, "Grandpa, seven!" I mean, she always shows it, the five fingers and two fingers, so 7x as many mines. I'm saying this because I want to explain that we have to tackle this issue with innovation and not with avoiding things that others would then do. We will end up with the lights out in Germany. At the end of the day, we are only responsible for 2% of the CO2 emissions in Germany. These molecules, when they come from Poland, the United States, or elsewhere in Poland, they burn a lot of coal. They don't stop at national borders. With that, I'm not trying to excuse what I'm saying, 2%. I mean, that's still a lot, 500 million tons.
I seem to be having a little bit of difficulties with the. Is it megatons or? It's still just almost 2%. Often Scope 3 is criticized. Scope 3 are the emissions that solutions that our customers buy. It's not that we cannot offer a lot. We have big solar projects, but if the customers don't buy them, 104,000 colleagues will end up unemployed. That's why the interaction between the individual interests is very difficult. That's why we have a great board of management that tries to look at this as much as possible from an economic point of view as well, and then assume responsibility for the things that move and shake us at the end of the day. Do we have more answers now?
We have five more questions, so I think we can do this. Mr. Schulz, you had a follow-up question. I think I answered it, but maybe I didn't. It's about the question of the bearings. There was a first technical look at the improvement of the connecting bolts, and there were corrective measures that were taken. Through these, after the corrective measures, we informed customers. You had a follow-up question on the RWE publication, and you have to understand that the details of this agreement are not public. We do not communicate things that were agreed on in detail based on confidentiality. Mr. Steurer, you asked about profit and order backlog of our business in 2024.
In the fiscal year 2025, our profit and order situation improved across all segments. You can take the accurate data from our situational report. It was about the question of which measures we. What the share of export credits and what share was Hermes guarantees between October 2024 and September 30th, 2025. We looked at the guarantee line of the federal state and used about EUR 800 million for Gas Services. Siemens Energy didn't use any back coverage of such guarantees by Euler Hermes and other export credit agencies for a project that Siemens Energy was participating in as a subcontractor.
A general contractor received export guarantees by Euler Hermes to support the financing of the project. There was a question that I didn't hear myself, but Mr. Maas wanted to know how Germany. How France succeeds in emitting less CO2 per capita than Germany. Well, we're not a power plant operator, but we know that France generates 70% of its energy need from nuclear power and 10% from hydrogen. That leads to a smaller CO2 consumption per capita or. I don't see any open questions anymore. I see one, or I pointed it out. I'd also like to answer the Scope 3 aspect in greater detail because Mr. Leitner had a follow-up question.
He didn't only want to know more about Scope 3, and he also asked what the Sustainability and Finance Committee was doing with regard to Scope 3 decarbonizations. It did, and it did so because we agree that innovation is the aspect that we need to help our customers to lower emissions in their business model. For example, hydrogen-operated turbines are one possibility here. We also looked at in the committee, we also looked at a clear focus on decarbonization along the value chain in our sustainability report 2025. We did that with the goal of reducing the Scope 3 emissions by at least 50% until 2030.
You will find more detailed information on this particular topic in the sustainability report. When I look at my notes, there are no further unanswered questions left. I think according to our understanding, all questions have been answered. 213 questions in total, mind you. I think the CEO answered 200 of them. Compliments. You did very well. If you are of the opinion that your questions have not yet been answered exhaustively, please ask for the floor. Please ask our note takers to write this down in the minutes. Thank you very much. I would have to double check on that. We'll jot that down. The registration table is over there. You're moving into the wrong direction. Mr. Ollier is taking a right turn. That's fine. He's walking over to the registration table.
I think we now deserve a break, don't we? This needs to be taken down in the minutes. Let's have a short break of 5 minutes. On my watch, it's 17 minutes past 5. Let us meet again at 22 past 5. Thank you so much. Meine sehr geehrten Damen und Herren, ladies and gentlemen, dear colleagues, shareholders, let us continue, and please be so kind and take your seats. Bitte die Plätze wieder einnehmen. Please take your seats again. Thank you so much. Thank you very much. Let's wait till you get back into the room, and let me tell you a short story. I recently had a discussion with a gentleman wearing the red headscarf. He's 87 years of age, a former member of the Siemens AG here in Berlin.
He definitely wanted to join today's AGM, and I'm certain that some of our former colleagues also attended the meeting who have worked for Siemens for several years. In the broader sense, you know, it consists of three different companies. We are happy to have you. Thank you very much for staying loyal to the companies, I should say. Right, ladies and gentlemen, we'd now like to proceed as follows: the general debate has thus been concluded because we've discussed all the different items on the agenda. Mr. Schulz wrote down his additional requests in the minutes and reported on that at the request table because he had the feeling that his questions were not answered thoroughly enough. We took that down in the minutes. Thus I would like to bring the general debate with all the agenda items to a close.
Thank you very much to all the speakers for their contributions. You were very disciplined and kept to the time management. This hardly ever happens anywhere else, so this is quite remarkable. Very good. Thank you for that. Now on to the voting procedure. Ladies and gentlemen? It is now 5:29 P.M. In a couple of minutes, at 5:35 P.M., you will be given the possibility to change or issue proxies, absentee votes, or instructions via the Internet. This, you still have 5 more minutes up until 5:35 P.M.
The shareholders and reps, for the last time, have the possibility up until this particular moment in time, which is 5:35 P.M., to use the password-protected Internet service or send an email in order to cast your proxy vote or change your absentee votes, or issue a proxy at the company, give them instructions, or revoke instructions that were already given, or thirdly, to issue a proxy to a third party, confirm it or revoke it. Please take into account that for technical reasons, there might be delays in the transmission via the Internet, therefore, please leave your statements online at an early stage. If you want to make a declaration by email, please take into account that you have to name the shareholder's identity explicitly.
Therefore, please indicate the first and family name, as well as the address of the shareholder, and if possible, also the shareholder number. Please also leave your declarations at an early point in time so that they can be considered in due course. Declarations that we receive after the aforementioned time period cannot be considered any longer, and we ask the technicians to take that into account. Statements that we receive after 5:35 will not be considered, and the same holds true for statements or entries that are passed in the entry or exit gates. All the shareholders who are present here today should please be so kind and take account of the organizational statements included in the information brochure. As I already mentioned at the very beginning of the meeting, please use your AGM card in order to cast a vote.
That is absolutely important. Please use your AGM card to cast your votes. If you have an admission card for which you have not yet received an AGM card, please contact our colleagues at the request, the speaker's request table immediately here in the front to your left, because you need an AGM card to cast a vote. Our assistants are more than happy to help you. The proxies who have to cast votes according to the instructions which were given to them are partly already covered in our electronic data system, and are also reflected in the overviews on display. The same holds true for votes cast by intermediaries, shareholder associations, advisors, or representative proxies which have to cast votes. The votes will be covered by our assistants in the mobile systems, in the mobile voting systems, and will therefore be considered in the results.
The absentee votes will also be counted in the final results and be announced in the final result. All the shareholders who want to cast a vote, and their proxies as well, who would also like to participate in the vote, please come into this particular hall. Only the votes collected in this hall will be counted, not in other parts of the building. Therefore, all those of you who would like to cast a vote, come into the conference room. This is where the votes are going to be collected. We use the addition method for this vote, so only the yes votes and the no votes will be counted. Abstentions will not be counted, and therefore they do not have any influence whatsoever on the election results.
As already mentioned, we are going to use mobile devices for the vote, tablets, which help the voting assistants, which they carry around with them. They will come to you, and then you can cast your vote. Where is one of our voting assistants? None of them is in this room, but please wait for them. They will approach you with their tablets. Therefore, please remain seated and give the assistants a clear show of hands if you want to cast a vote. Yes, please give us a show of hands. Thanks very much. Our colleagues will come to you. The assistants will scan in the QR code on your AGM card. On the tablet, you can double-check on the number of shares, which is also printed out on your AGM card.
Please let the voting assistants know how you would like to vote. Your vote will then be scanned into the tablets. If you vote with a yes, you approve of the proposal submitted by the management. If you cast a no, you speak out against the proposals. If you don't want to cast a vote, which is also possible, this is considered to be an abstention.
After your vote has been recorded, please also check the display of the tablet to see whether your vote has been recorded accordingly, and if so, then release your votes for the final voting process. In order to do this, you can either tap the approve or release button on the tablet, or you can also let the voting assistants do it for you. In that case, your vote would be considered cast. If you have more than one AGM card, you must vote separately for each AGM card, which is very important to ensure the integrity of our vote. The voting process, of course, is supervised by a notary. All of the management's proposed resolutions on the agenda items are included in the notice of the meeting. This can also be found on the company's website and here on-site at the information terminals.
This information is also available in printed form for inspection at information stand 2 and at the speaker registration desk for your perusal. Agenda item number 1 does not require a resolution to be passed. With regard to the management-proposed resolution on agenda item 2, the appropriation of net profit, I would like to point out that the company currently holds 2,151,357 treasury shares. According to the proposal of the Supervisory Board and the Management Board, the remaining 858,953,557 dividend-bearing shares, at an unchanged dividend of EUR 0.70 per dividend share. The amount of EUR 601,267,489.90 shall be distributed as a dividend.
The amount of EUR 192,744,000.56 is attributable to the treasury shares not entitled to dividends and shall be carried forward as a profit carried forward. The updated proposed resolution can be viewed on the company's website and also on the information terminals. It's also available in printed form at information stand 2 and at the speaker registration desk. With that, we have completed the formal announcements. Ladies and gentlemen, I will now call agenda items 2 to 7 to the vote. Regarding agenda item 2, I put the updated proposed resolution that has just been read out to the vote.
The exact, and therefore authoritative wording of agenda items 3 to 7 can be found in the notice, convening today's AGM, which was published in the Federal Gazette on the 14th of January, 2026, which in turn can be viewed on the company's website and at the information terminals here on site. Printed copies are also available for viewing at information desk 2 and at the speaker registration desk. I will therefore not read out the verbatim of the proposed resolutions. I hereby put the proposed resolutions announced in the notice convening the AGM to the vote unchanged for agenda items 3 to 7. The resolutions on agenda items 2 to 6 require a simple majority of the votes cast. The resolution on agenda item 7 also requires a majority of at least three-quarters of the share capital represented at the time the resolution is passed.
As announced in the notice of meeting, I will put the discharge of the members of the executive board and the supervisory board to the vote under agenda items 3 and 4, respectively, by way of individual discharge or ratification, that's going to be very transparent. Under agenda item 5.1 on the appointment of the auditor, and under agenda item 5.2 on the appointment of the auditor for sustainability reporting, you may vote separately. All items of resolution under items 2 to 7 of the agenda, however, will be voted on in a single procedure. With regard to the votes on agenda items 3 and 4, so ratification of acts of the members of executive and supervisory board, I would like to point out the statutory voting prohibition under Section 136 of the German Stock Corporation Act.
In other words, the members of the executive and supervisory boards were informed of this in good time prior to the AGM, so that they could take appropriate precautions and not to vote. Not voting, meaning, this is self-evident. They cannot ratify their own acts, so this is what the shareholders will do. Now, as far as countermotions or election proposals by shareholders on agenda items two to seven is concerned, I will first put the management's proposed resolutions to the vote, and if these are accepted with the necessary majorities, the countermotions or election proposals submitted on these agenda items will be deemed to have been dealt with in the sense that they no longer need to be voted on. Anyone who is in favor of a countermotion or election proposal by shareholders must therefore vote no on the management-proposed resolution.
Please remain seated. Please have your AGM cards ready and give our voting assistants a clear show of hands if you wish to vote. Our assistants will then come to you with their tablet computers. I see they're ready to get started. Ladies and gentlemen, it is now 17:42. I note that, as announced, since 17:35, it has no longer been possible to cast or change votes by absentee ballot via the Internet, and the same applies also to proxies and instructions. Proxies and instructions to the company's proxies will also no longer be accepted at the entrance and exit gates. The assistants are ready in their place. Can I now ask the voting assistants to begin counting their votes? Please, with a show of hands of the shareholders, we can get this voting underway.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is now 17:43. 17:43. As announced, since 17:43, no votes can be passed by absentee ballot via the Internet. Same is true for proxies and instructions. At the entrance and exit gates, no proxies and instructions to the company's proxies will be accepted. Can we now ask the voting assistants to begin counting?
Okay, technicians tell me, let's get on with it. Ladies and gentlemen, can I ask you, please, whether all votes have been cast? Is there anybody who still want to cast their votes? Because now would be the time to speak up or to raise your hands, those of you who haven't done it yet. Anybody? Maybe you want to vote again, but can't. Okay, last call. Anybody who would like to cast their votes? That is not the case. I can note that all votes on all items on the agenda have been cast. Those who wanted to cast their votes, of course, the voting is now closed. I now ask that the voting results be determined. The evaluation of this will be supervised by the notary, which concludes the formal process of voting.
We will take a few minutes for the results to be available. We'll have a short break.
All right, we now have the results of the vote. I would like to ask you to take your seats again. I am on page 41 of 46, the end is nigh. Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, I will now announce the results on item on the agenda 2. With 99.99% of the valid votes cast, and thus with the necessary majority, the proposal has been accepted. 99.99% on item of the agenda also 3. That's ratifying the acts of the colleagues of the executive board. All members of the executive board in fiscal year 2024/2025 received the necessary majority to have their activities ratified for that period. Dr. Christian Bruch, with 96.96%. I propose that we read all of them and then applaud collectively. That's faster. Okay.
Maria Ferraro with 97.09%, Karim Amin with 97.09%, Tim Oliver Holt with 97.09%, and Lore Perricard de Chamarre with 97.09%. Vinoe Philippe with 96.49%. That would be the moment for a round of applause. Thank you. Thank you. That was the executive board. For the supervisory board, it's going to be a little longer because it's more people. Again, with your agreement, let's collect the applause. If you are going to heckle or boo, do it individually. All members of the supervisory board in the fiscal year 2024-2025 received the ratification of their actions with the necessary majority.
Joe Kaeser, 95.41%, Robert Kensbock, 96.44%, Hubert Lienhard, 96.49%, Günter Augustat, 96.44%, Manfred Bäreis is 96.49%, Manuel Bloemers, 96.49%, Dr. Christine Bortenlänger, who is not with us anymore because she has left but is still in this vote, 96.49%. Anja-Isabel Dotzenrath, 96.49%. Dr. Andrea Fehrmann, 96.49%. Dr. Andreas Feldmüller, 96.49%. Nadine Florian, 96.49%. You already guessed it, Professor Sigmar Gabriel, 96.46%. Professor Grimm, 96.47%. Jürgen Kerner, 96.44%. Simone Menne, 96.48%. Hildegard Müller, again, not with us now, but still active then, so 96.48%. Laurence Mulliez, 96.49%.
Thomas Pfann, 96.49%. Matthias Rebellius, 96.38%. Cornelia Schau, 96.49%. Geisha Williams, 96.38%. Professor Dr. Fei Shi, 96.44%. Vielen Dank! Thank you. On item on the agenda 5.1, which is the proposal of the Supervisory Board to appoint KPMG AG, Munich as independent auditor of the annual financial statements and the consolidated financial statements for fiscal year 2026, auditor for the review of the condensed financial statements and interim management report for the Siemens Energy Group for the first half year of fiscal year 2026. Approved with 99.52% of valid votes cast, it has thus received the necessary majority.
Item 5.2 on the agenda: the proposal of the Supervisory Board to propose KPMG AG, Munich, be appointed to serve as auditor of the sustainability reports for fiscal year 2026. This proposal received 99.95% of the valid votes cast, as such, received the necessary majority. Item 6, proposal of the Executive and Supervisory Board to resolve the approval of the compensation report for fiscal year 2025. Always a little bit complicated, it received 97.5% of valid votes cast and thus received the necessary majority. Item 7: proposal of the administration on the compensation for members of the Supervisory Board and the related amendments to the articles of association and the compensation system for the Supervisory Board members received 99.31% of valid votes cast, thus received the necessary majority.
Yeah, this.
Well, that was quite okay. Thank you.
This in the, immer in eine Demokratie.
I mean, we're in a democracy and not in North Vietnam, so-
Wir setzen nun die Hauptversammlung fort.
Quite impressive.
Und kommen langsam-
We're going to continue with the AGM and are slowly moving towards the end.
Einzulegen und Fragen als angeblich nicht oder nicht vollständig-
If questions-
Zu Protokoll zu geben.
We now have the possibility to.
So dann-
Note that questions haven't been answered fully. I don't see...
Vorliegen
... that
werde ich
has any countermotions. I'm going to read out
Die Abstimmungsergebnisse zu den jeweiligen Beschlüssen.
the votes.
Auf der großen Leinwand hinter mir eingeblendet.
Will, while I read them out, be shown on the screen and will also be published on the websites. On items on the agenda 2 and 7, I can state and note...
Yeah, was verkündige ich eigentlich?
What am I stating? That no countermotions exist, or all of them have been dealt with because the proposals of the Supervisory Board and Executive Board have received the necessary majority.
Die noch hier sind.
To those of you who are still present and stayed with us until the end, I can-
Dafür, dass.
Now say thank you very much for staying with us. Those who have left the building already, thank you to them as well for their intense participation, very disciplined participations. We didn't have any limits to the speaking time. 25 speakers, 231 questions. This is really great.
Noch mal herzlich.
Thank you very much for that.
Wir haben hier heute so gemerkt.
Now, you have probably noticed-
Jetzt haben Sie-
Yes, you've probably noticed that the Chairman of the Supervisory Board had to work a lot.
Ein bisschen der Aufsichtsrat-
And-
und auch der Vorstand.
... the Supervisory Board and/or the CEO and the CFO also had to work a lot. The reason why this all worked so well.
Das darf-
approaching the stage now. It's the team that ensures that every question, as detailed as it might be...
Interessierten Anteil-
every question by interested shareholders was answered comprehensively, in depth and professionally. Thank you very much to the team.
Sie sehen schon, also so eine Hauptversammlung.
You can see an AGM is quite a feat, and I have to say, it needs to be prepared carefully by people who know what they're doing, who ensure the safety, the well-being, and also that the questions are answered in depth and in detail. This is very important, and we are taking this very seriously. Thank you very much for the great support. The next AGM will is expected to take place in February 2027. I hereby close the AGM. I would like to thank everybody who has participated. The EUR 70 per 100 shares are a deal, and we're working on reducing the denominator. Thank you very much.
[Presentation]
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Siemens Energy AG, Joe Kaeser.
Dear shareholders, ladies and gentlemen, as Chairman of the Supervisory Board, I hereby open the 2026 Annual General Meeting of Siemens Energy AG and assume the chair in accordance with the Articles of Association. On behalf of the Supervisory Board and the Managing Board, I would like to welcome everyone here today in Berlin, the representatives of shareholder associations and our shareholders' custodian banks, the members of the press, and also every other invited guest. I would also like to welcome everyone watching the AGM live on the internet, and I would like to extend a special welcome to Christoph Seidel, who, as the Chairperson of the Shareholders' Council of the Siemens family, is present here today. I've seen numerous representatives of the Siemens family.
I'm very happy that you are present here in Berlin, the founding location of these three excellent companies, and that you've joined us today. Siemens was founded here in Berlin. It was a backyard, and in a time, ladies and gentlemen, where in Silicon Valley, they didn't even have garages yet. Should you think that we can't manage, I can tell you, we can. That was a side remark. I would like to continue with the official speech. This is the first Annual General Meeting of Siemens Energy that our company is holding in person here in Berlin, and this is something special for us, the Supervisory Board and the Executive Board and everybody. Supervisory Board, Executive Board are present in full today, and the Annual General Meeting will be certified by Mr.
Christian Steinke, Notary Public, who is also present here on the stage. Dear shareholders, ladies and gentlemen, we're meeting today in Berlin at a very successful time for Siemens Energy. Very successful. Your company has exceeded all growth and earnings expectations, and it can once again look back on a very successful fiscal year. This has not always been the case. I am of the opinion that this is the result of one of the most spectacular and successful turnarounds in the history of the DAX. This is all the more remarkable because we are living in a very volatile world. I would therefore like to take the opportunity to express my sincere thanks to the Managing Board and all employees of Siemens Energy for their outstanding work in this past fiscal year again.
Before I go into more detail about the company's development and the work of the Supervisory Board, I must briefly mention the necessary formalities and point those out. Ladies and gentlemen, today's Annual General Meeting was convened in due form and time by announcement in the Federal Gazette on January 14th, 2026. The notice of convocation, including the agenda and the management's proposed resolutions, was sent to you with the invitation to the AGM. You can find it, along with the other documents required by law and additional information on our company's website for your review since the convocation. The documents are also available for viewing today at the three so-called information terminals here on site. These are located at Information Desk, in the passageway from the catering area to this hall and at the speaking desk.
Printed copies are also available at the so-called Information Desk 2 and at the speaking desk.
As assembly room-
... The meeting room here on site is defined as the areas that are cordoned off by the entrance and exit controls and are open to the shareholders. This also includes the adjacent rooms and the smoking area. You shouldn't be smoking, it's not healthy, but if you do, if you do, we do have a smoking area. As I said, the entire annual general meeting will be broadcast live on the internet for our shareholders and other interested parties. Shareholders and their proxies can also follow the entire AGM via the password-protected internet service, regardless of whether they have registered for the AGM or not. The speeches by Mr. Bruch and myself will be recorded and made available later on the company's website.
In addition, the cameras that you can see here distributed in this room will be used to transmit the proceedings to the monitors and speakers in the meeting building and in the so-called back offices, so that at any time and everywhere, you can follow the AGM. Anyone who wishes to speak or submit motions should contact the speaking desk as early as possible. Please, as early as possible. Your contributions will be recorded electronically during the general debate and transcribed electronically into text. This enables your questions to be recorded efficiently and answers to be prepared, all of which will be reviewed by our employees in the so-called back office. The other parts of the annual general meeting will not be recorded. There will also not be a stenographic or stenographic minutes. Voting today will be conducted using mobile recording devices in the form of tablets.
You can see digitalization has started here at Siemens Energy. To vote, and this is very important, to vote, you will need a so-called AGM card, which you will have received at one of the shareholder counters in the entrance or exit area upon presentation of your admission ticket. Please keep your AGM cards safe until the voting begins, because that's where you will need them. If you still have admission tickets and have not yet received your AGM cards, please present them at one of the shareholder counters to receive your AGM cards. Only shares registered in this way, and this is important, only shares registered in this way are considered present and can participate in the voting.
Shareholders who have registered in the proper manner can also cast their votes via the password-protected Internet service during the Annual General Meeting until a time specified by me, as well as issue proxies and instructions. I will explain the details of the voting procedure to you after the general debate, and I will let you know in due time. If you wish to leave the Annual General Meeting early or if you have to, please note the information in the brochure available at the entrance and on the back of your AGM card. I would also like to ask you to refrain from taking photos or making audio recordings of the Annual General Meeting and to switch off your cell phones or set them to silent mode here in the hall. That, ladies and gentlemen, concludes the formal announcements.
Dear shareholders, ladies and gentlemen, dear colleagues, we are meeting in turbulent times, in turbulent times for this AGM. The shift from value-based political norms to transactional, almost power-oriented action is not only in full swing across the Atlantic. Tensions in the Indo-Pacific region could escalate at any time, and Russia's terrible war of aggression against Ukraine is already in its fifth year. Its fifth year. Since the outbreak of the war, Siemens Energy has supported Ukraine in various ways, including donating equipment, but not only wherever it's possible. The Supervisory Board fully supports these management initiatives. It also shows that successful entrepreneurial action, successful entrepreneurial results. Successful entrepreneurial action enables the exercise of corporate responsibility. If you're weak as a company, you won't be able to help others. That's why it is important that economic success as the foundation of everything is highlighted.
We live in a time of a multipolar world order, and I believe it's no exaggeration to say that we even live in systemic competition. In recent years, I've often referred to a Zeitenwende, the turning of the times. It's not a term coined by me, but by a federal chancellor who coined this term, Zeitenwende, a turning point. You could also interpret this as an era of transformation if you transfer it to the world of enterprise transformation era. In any case, whether it's Zeitenwende or transformation, it is an era marked by increasing uncertainty. This uncertainty does not only affect societies around the world, but it also poses immense challenges for companies and investors. I do see the colleagues here today who represent big funds. Thank you very much for coming. We're very glad about this.
Investors are dealing with this challenge as well, not just companies. These transformational changes, ladies and gentlemen, are structural in nature. Structures change, and often in a disruptive manner. Disruptive. They place special demands on us. They disrupt things that we've gotten used to, and these conditions place special demands on management. These changes are not a new phenomenon. It's not the first time in the history of humankind that this is happening. All previous industrial revolutions, all of them have also brought about disruptive transformations, deep transformations. However, what's new is the speed and the multi-causal nature of these changes. What's also new, ladies and gentlemen, is their profound influence on market supply chains and consequently, investment decisions. Siemens Energy's management is actively addressing these issues in a solution-oriented manner because they also constitute opportunities.
This brings me to the heart of Siemens Energy's business operations. I will now report on the Supervisory Board's activities in the past financial year, and I will focus on aspects particularly relevant to today's annual general meeting. The detailed report of the Supervisory Board can be found in the 2025 annual report on pages 235-242. It's only 7 pages, but in small print. I think it's not an exaggeration to say that Siemens Energy has successfully completed its fifth year of independence. It was the best year in the company's history, young history. The company's value, the stock value, has increased significantly, and its shares generated outstanding returns.
Although this is likely fueled by widespread AI hype, the historically elevated and high-quality order backlog of EUR 146 billion ensures robust earnings power for the coming years. That's good. I believe, to summarize, and I hope that the representatives of the shareholders agree with me, I think we can summarize that in the past fiscal year, not only were the targets achieved, but in many areas they were also exceeded. The segments, Gas Services, Grid Technologies, and Transformation of Industry, improved their results even further compared to the previous year, which was already a strong year. In fiscal year 2025, these segments achieved double-digit growth rates in revenue. Double-digit growth rates, I mean, that starts with 10%.
Ladies and gentlemen, there aren't a lot of companies in this country, unfortunately, this is part and parcel of the truth as well, that currently show double-digit growth rates. We're proud of this. We're happy and grateful that these opportunities exist and are used, and that this has significantly contributed to the company's overall profitability is self-evident. Siemens Gamesa's wind power business developed as expected. As expected, the supervisory board looked at wind power business in great detail for good reasons. We also dissolved the Siemens Gamesa special committee, but we're very closely involved in this development, and we also look at the strategic orientation and the possibilities of this very important segment. I call it very important because it's about renewable energies. It's about the last remaining core competence of European companies in the area of renewable energy here in Europe.
Ladies and gentlemen, after the solar business, we should not leave the wind business to the Chinese. By fiscal year 2026, our goal is to break even and return to profitable growth in the area of wind power. It is important to stress by fiscal year 2026. Over the course of the fiscal year 2026, management is supposed to do that. Vino is sitting next to me, so very important person. He and his team are responsible for achieving these goals. The long-term goal is clear, ladies and gentlemen. The long-term goal for wind is to achieve a double-digit operating margin, which would significantly reduce the current dilution of corporate profitability. The company's positive development is primarily thanks to its CEO, Christian Bruch, and his executive team, as well as all employees.
He guided Siemens Energy through extremely challenging times, with sound judgment, clarity, and wisdom. With a lot of patience. Despite considerable headwinds, we did just talk about wind business. Despite considerable headwinds, he put the company on the right track. The task now is to reliably achieve our ambitious medium-term goals that were mentioned and stated for 2028. The groundwork for this has been thoroughly laid. Monitoring management is part of the tasks that we have as a supervisory board, and we do that with a lot of commitment. This applies particularly to strategically important issues relating to the company's further development. Dear shareholders, it is obvious that Siemens Energy is benefiting from the growing global demand for energy.
Many sectors of the economy are undergoing comprehensive electrification, this trend, ladies and gentlemen, is further reinforced by digitalization and artificial intelligence, because all of these things require energy. Energy that needs to be generated and transferred, that is the core competence of our company. The age of electrification that we've talked about for so long during the 1990s, during the turn of the century, the age of electrification, ladies and gentlemen, has truly begun. It has truly begun. At the same time, artificial intelligence's disruptive nature, the fourth industrial revolution, digitalization, AI, fourth industrial revolution, presents a central challenge, but also a historic opportunity. A historic opportunity for the global economy and its companies. This also applies to Siemens Energy. In recognition of this, the supervisory board has established a committee for digitalization and artificial intelligence. We were able to win over Ms.
Fei Xi, a renowned expert in this area. There aren't many who are experts in this field and who know what they're doing. There are a lot of people who think they are, but there aren't that many who actually are. I'm particularly glad that she has joined us, and she supports the company, the executive board, and the supervisory board. This committee advises and monitors the executive board in developing and implementing the digital and AI strategy, AI for artificial intelligence. The supervisory board is the increasingly relevant protection of critical infrastructure.
This critical infrastructure is both physical, I mean, we're in Berlin here, and, you know that there is a lot that has happened in Berlin with regard to critical infrastructure, and it's a big task, and it's an area of operation for Siemens Energy, and we look at this as well, the physical and digital critical infrastructure. One thing is clear: in times of artificial intelligence, Siemens Energy is well-positioned, and it will continue to benefit from the age of electrification. The company will carefully plan and implement its growth in this energy super cycle, as we call it. The supervisory board has very, very closely monitored these developments and will continue to do so with responsible and sound governance in the future.
Sometimes it helps when you've worked on the other side of the table for many years as CEO, because that also shows you what the things are that the supervisory board likes and what it doesn't, and it's good to have that knowledge. As I said, we have a close working cooperation, very in-depth, but with the required distance between the CEO heading the company and the supervisory board monitoring it. Ladies and gentlemen, given the very positive development, the supervisory and executive boards will propose a dividend of EUR 0.70 per share for fiscal year 2025. Oh! Oh. Well, I can see the dividend is something that is taking the boredom out of this room. EUR 0.70. Cents. Not EUR 70. It's EUR 70 for 100 shares. After that clarification, let me continue with EUR 0.70 per share.
This is made possible by the early repayment of the, as we believe, problematic counter guarantee from the German government and the lifting of the dividend restriction. This dividend payment underscores the company's regained financial strength, and it represents a building block for sustainable shareholder returns. Ladies and gentlemen, after this little announcement that has been met with a lot of recognition, let me return to the concluding part of my speech. Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, your company's importance has grown considerably in recent years in terms of its size, market value, and social significance. Consequently, the scope, intensity, and complexity of the supervisory board's work have increased significantly. However, the current remuneration of the supervisory board is based on a comparison from 7 years ago. We have described this in very clear, transparent terms. You can review this on the internet site of the investor relations.
You can understand why we come to the conclusion that we come to, because for this reason, we propose, based on a renowned consulting firm's opinion that specializes in executive and supervisory board remunerations, we propose a review of the remuneration of the supervisory and executive board. I think it's HKP, the company that has made this comparison, and according to this analysis, the Siemens Energy supervisory board remuneration is currently well below the market level of comparable DAX-listed companies. Considering this, we propose an appropriate adjustment to the supervisory board remuneration in item seven of this year's agenda, which we ask you to approve today. We are aware of the fact that in percentage points, this adjustment is considerable, but we looked at 39 DAX companies that we compared ourselves to, and we believe that it is appropriate in this context.
You can find, as I already said, detailed information on the proposed adjustments in the annual shareholder meetings notice and in the corporate governance presentation on the AGM website at www.siemens-energy.com/AGM. Dear shareholders, ladies and gentlemen, we are living in uncertain times. I think we can state this clearly. The coming years will be decisive for all of us. Now is the time. Now is the time to set the right course. Your company, Siemens Energy, has also gone through difficult times. It emerged stronger from these difficult times, and this is, of course, also linked to the excellent market environment in which we operate. The energy super cycle will continue to drive sales growth, profitability, and employment, and that's very important, employment as well for many years to come. These are very promising prospects for the company's future. We are ready.
As I said, and I'd like to repeat this again, this is owed in a big extent to the strength of Siemens Energy's people, and this is the Executive Board and its strong Team Purple. You can see Team Purple, they create identity, and the Executive Board and its strong Team Purple have steered the company safely through all challenges thus far. Having this team with us, we move into the coming years, and that gives us confidence for the future. At the same time, we must never forget that the customer satisfaction and the partner performance are important, very important foundations for our success.
Dear shareholders, all of you who have been with us for so many years, the representatives of the media, the professional funds, thank you very much for your trust and occasionally your patience for the time that you are giving us when we approach you with a request for dialogue, for advice needed to improve our company, to improve the work of the supervisory board. Thank you for that, and thank you very much for being here today. It's a nice AGM with a lot of people. I see many of you who I remember from my active times, former colleagues of the three Siemens companies, current companies who still work for the three Siemens companies and are hopefully all shareholders as well, who have not sold the Siemens Energy share. This brings me to the end of my presentation.
You see that we're happy that you are here. I hope we will have an AGM with a lot of dialogues, a constructive AGM. Thank you very much again for your patience and also your uplifting applause with regard to the EUR 70, or at least the attempt to move towards the EUR 70. It's going to take some time, nothing is impossible, this might be a very long-term goal here, where Werner Siemens invented the generator and consequently the cradle for the electrification of the world. Thank you very much.
Thank you very much. With this, I would now like to give the floor to the CEO of Siemens Energy AG, Christian Bruch.
[Presentation]
As you have just seen behind me, electricity is the foundation of our modern life. We're living in the age of electricity. Our everyday lives, our economy, our mobility would come to a standstill without electricity. At the same time, the demand for electricity is growing rapidly. The electrification of transport, of heating, and of the industry is advancing continuously. The progress in artificial intelligence today, more than ever, depends largely on the question of: Is sufficient electricity available? Today, our societies are more dependent on electricity than ever before. This makes the balance between affordability, availability, and sustainability all the more important. That is why Siemens Energy is needed, because we have the technologies, we have the products, and above all, we have the people. People who build and maintain this infrastructure so that electricity flows reliably.
That is exactly what it is. When we say, "We energize society," that's what we mean. With that, ladies and gentlemen, we would like to welcome you to the Siemens Energy Annual General Meeting 2026 here in Berlin. Here at Siemens Energy, we're now more than 100,000 employees in over 90 countries. ... We hold almost 19,000 patents, and we have around 50 manufacturing sites worldwide. It's on this basis that we can combine technological expertise and implementation skills, and this is also how we brought electricity to people in the past, and this is also how we are now shaping the energy infrastructure of the future.
In the past year alone, we have added 23 gigawatts of installed generation capacity worldwide, which would be enough to supply a country like Poland with electricity. We bring electricity to where it is needed, with grid infrastructure and substation. 260 gigawatts of additional transmission capacity in 2025 alone. It's capacities for more than 1 billion people, and we also help industry reduce carbon emissions. In the process industry alone, the reductions are 37 million tons. This is the amount that our customers will avoid over the lifetime of the plants they ordered from us last year. Our story begins here in Berlin. As Joe has just said, in 1847, Werner Siemens and Johann Georg Halske founded the Telegraphen-Bauanstalt von Siemens & Halske. This company grew into what is now Siemens Energy.
Our plant in the Moabit district has been synonymous with energy technology for almost 120 years. This is where our history comes to life. The picture in the background shows it. We have been manufacturing steam turbines and generators here since 1929. Today? Today, the plant is operating at full capacity and will continue to do so for years to come. Our colleagues here work in three shifts to meet the growing global demand for electricity. One face of this achievement is Cynthia Wirth. She manages a production line at our plant in Moabit. Before we welcome Ms. Wirth here on stage, I would like to play a film from our Huttenstrasse plant.
Okay. Das ist Halle neun.
This is Hall 9. Indeed, it has seen a few stories before. Best of all, day in, day out, we're working here, producing more than ever. I'm Cynthia. Let me take you on a journey. I'm going to show you why I love this place so much. These are ceramic heat shields in the combustion chamber. This is my specialty. First of all, it's impressive size. What really matters is what's happening in the details. It's about tenths of a fraction. Clear transitions, making sure that everything fits perfectly. This is my favorite section. We're producing ceramic components for the combustion chamber. Ceramics has always been fascinating to me. Every part is unique. It is hand-molded, burned, and then inspected. In other words, every single part has to be perfect. Some of these are produced in 3D printing.
This technology makes us more flexible. It opens entirely new opportunities. What you see here is truly teamwork in the process of making the mix of collaboration of machines and people effective with full utilization, because the world needs our el ectricity. Welcome to Huttenstrasse.
Welcome, Ms. Wirth. It's great to have you here today. Thanks for sharing this time with us. What did you bring this time ?
Well, this is one of those ceramic heat shields that we're producing in our manufacturing plant at Huttenstrasse. We produce more than 50,000 of those ceramic heat shields per year. We supply those to our customers globally.
Just now, I talked about the long history of our location here. When you arrive in the morning, so how does that make you feel?
Well, it's just as impressive as standing, as standing on stage here with you today. It has always been impressive, when I'm taking my stroll through our factory, and when I see how this production actually works in real life, this is very impressive. And also, the sense of pride, that our employees use to produce steam turbines, all the way to the final assembly line, and then see how this comes into the shape of a final product, is just unfathomable. Now, you changed from R&D to production. Why? It's true. It's a change of perspective for me. In the past, I worked on innovation and headed the digitization department, and I worked a lot with our production colleagues at the time.
We could always see the best or the most effective solutions were created with the integration of production in the early phase. As we were developing a new product, having production people on site has helped us immensely. Therefore, this created a new opportunity for me to go over to the other side and see what you can do on the shop floor. Manufacturing essentially implements what our colleagues in engineering have developed. How can we improve this work? We're already collaborating really well, and we need to continue this type of collaboration. The challenges that we're now facing, like new technologies, or the large gas turbine, make it hydrogen-ready, is so huge. The pace at which the world develops and needs our solutions is massive.
We need to get better, we have to slim down our processes. We need to bring engineering and production together early on to reduce the friction losses and the interaction level in order to really launch a product successfully quickly. Earlier when we talked, you said that diversity is very important in your team, and why is that? Because I believe diversity, for me, stands for people from different walks of life, and bringing them together and making something happen. If we manage to pull that off, that people from different backgrounds, technical ones, cultural backgrounds, work together, this leads to better solutions. Look at me. I'm standing on the stage here together with you. Why?
There were people who believed in me and my future perspectives, and this is why diversity is ever so important. If you were to sum it up in a nutshell, what would that be? What would you say is the core message of what you want to share with us? What keeps me going and motivates me in my job is that we manage to build a modern, innovative production, where technology and people are a perfect fit. Also a motivator for the future generations to join us, because the history that we are showing here, the history of this manufacturing plant, like many others in Germany, must be continued, but it cannot be continued without the people on board.
That's a great story. Thank you very much, Ms. Wirth. Thanks for being here. Please give our regards to your entire team, and we wish you good success, and thanks for all the work that you've been doing. Dear shareholders, people like Cynthia Wirth represent what Siemens Energy is all about. People who know what matters for our customers, for global energy supply, and for your investment. That is what our teams work for every day. Therefore, I'd like to express my sincere thanks to all of them, to all employees who make this success possible globally. One thing is clear: it needs a strong and competent team to fully exploit the opportunities of a dynamic market. Here are some figures to demonstrate how strongly this market is growing. In 2025, global electricity demand grew by 3%, which was faster than the historical average.
Never before has so much been invested in power generation and grids as in 2025. EUR 1.3 trillion, as much as Australia's gross domestic product. This trend is continuing. We expect that global electricity generation will grow by even more than 3% each year until 2035. Your Siemens Energy is excellently positioned in this market, which gives us an opportunity to grow significantly faster than the market. Last year, the revenue grew by 15%. In fiscal 2025, we sold 194 gas turbines, almost twice as many as in the previous year. Also, our grid business is benefiting. By 2035, the global power grid will almost double in size. Along with it, demand for our products will also rise, and that certainly also applies to the electrification of industrial processes.
We expect demand to increase by 25% by 2035. Take an example like shipping. More and more customers are turning to electric drives and power storage systems. Siemens Energy already today supports a fleet of 900 ships, which is an excellent foundation for a profitable service business. There's another trend driving demand, as we've just heard in Joe Kaeser's speech. In 2025, the focus in the United States was on the electricity requirements of data centers. Data centers for artificial intelligence, in particular, require large amounts of electricity. By 2030, data centers are expected to consume 1,500 terawatt-hours of electricity. This is as much as the total electricity consumption of Germany and Japan combined.
Today's electricity systems are not prepared for this level of increase. This is why massive investments are needed, investments that we ourselves have also made in the past fiscal year, investments in growing our manufacturing capacities. In 2025, we opened 7 new factories worldwide and created 4,000 additional jobs, many of them in Europe. We will continue this expansion in 2026. At the beginning of February, we announced a $1 billion investment program in our U.S. locations. This also includes the construction of 2 training centers, because we're also creating 1,500 new jobs in the United States. The American electricity market is currently growing faster than other markets, and the expansion of data centers for artificial intelligence plays an important role in this. The country needs more generation capacity and also significantly stronger power grids.
We are helping to build both. This shows you what matters most. We are investing specifically in markets where we are experiencing strong growth. We also invest in our regional supply chains, which helps us to successfully process our order backlog. In our grid business, for example, we source 95% of our purchasing volume locally in the regions where we manufacture. We're also continuing to expand our supply chains to avoid bottlenecks, making us more resilient. Now, what resilience means is shown in Ukraine every day, where we see how energy supply infrastructure is being systematically destroyed. This war clearly shows that critical energy infrastructure is a prime target of military attacks. For us, this is almost unimaginable.
Yet, earlier this year, for many people here in Berlin, this has become a first-hand experience of what it means, what a power outage can cause in the middle of winter, what it feels like. This blackout was caused by an attack made this painfully clear. The lessons out of this are clear, of course, in the sense that we must better protect our energy infrastructure. We must build up redundancies. We must understand resilience as a strategic principle as well, both nationally and internationally. This is precisely where we, as Siemens Energy, can contribute products and solutions that make our power supply more resilient. It is not only attacks on critical infrastructure that shape the geopolitical environment. Raw materials also being used geopolitically.
Tariffs are rising. Unfortunately, 2026, unfortunately, I must reiterate, does not promise any relief in this regard. This is precisely why we're making Siemens Energy more resilient every day. Last year, I presented our strategy for this in detail here. We have a company program, Elevate, which means reaching the next level. We're focusing on three things. Number one, we are building the transforming energy world. We are investing in our manufacturing facilities, we're investing in our organic growth, and at the same time, we're further developing our portfolio, and we are supporting our employees. Number two, we're enhancing resilience in a world with robust supply chains, a strong balance sheet, and greater responsiveness to external risks. Number three, we're transforming the way we operate. We're becoming more agile, more efficient. We are creating tools with digitalization and artificial intelligence to be more transparent.
We're anchoring sustainability at the heart of everything we do. Economic success and environmental responsibility are inseparably linked for us as a company. This is not always easy in a very complex world that we have to navigate every day to have a balance of affordability, sustainability, and reliability. These are priorities in 2025 that have paid off, and Siemens Energy has successfully concluded the 2025 fiscal year, despite a number of geopolitical challenges. Despite those, we have achieved all of our goals and even exceeded them, and the figures truly speak for themselves. Orders of nearly EUR 59 billion, which at the end of the day, meant an order backlog at the year-end of EUR 138 billion. Revenue rose to more than EUR 39 billion.
Profit before special items was significantly above the target at EUR 2.4 billion, with a margin of 6%. The free cash flow, compared to the previous year, more than doubled to almost EUR 4.7 billion, and this, in turn, resulted in a net income of around EUR 1.7 billion. The financial figures are, of course, only one dimension. The three factors that I'd like to give you that made these figures possible in the first place. Firstly, safe working. We were able to reduce the total recordable incident rate between 2023 and 2025 by 30%. That is a good result, but it's not good enough. Our goal remains zero accidents. Only a safe Siemens Energy is a successful Siemens Energy. Second, satisfied customers. Our record order backlog proves that our customers trust us.
Our customer satisfaction rating, also known as the Net Promoter Score, is 62. In the project-driven energy business, this is an excellent score. It showcases our leading market position. At the same time, this score drives us to improve even further. Thirdly, motivated employees. In 2025, employee satisfaction was 9 points higher than in the previous year. This is a remarkable figure, especially if you bear in mind the high capacity utilization with our strong order situation. A motivated team is always the basis of our success, today and in the future. Therefore, once again, I would like to thank our employees, our Team Purple, for their excellent work over the past year. Thank you so much. I would also like to thank my colleagues in the executive board for what was an intense year spent together.
I would also like to thank to the Supervisory Board, headed by Joe Kaeser, for your advice and your supervision. Indeed, thank you so much for your trust and the collaboration. Safe working practices, satisfied customers, a motivated team. These are the three elements that shaped our year in 2025 and made our success possible. That's also why we were able to strengthen our financial position. Our credit rating was upgraded by the relevant agencies. We were also able to exit the German government guarantee structure earlier. Our equity ratio has significantly increased, which also reflected in our share price. In fiscal 2025, it tripled from EUR 33.2 to EUR 99.42. For the first time since 2021, we are again proposing a dividend, EUR 0.70 per share.
We're working on the EUR now. What this means, it corresponds to a payout ratio of 50% of adjusted earnings after taxes. We have grown, we have become more profitable, and our shareholders are benefiting from the higher share prices and the dividend. Now the crucial question is: How do we further increase the value of our company? What are the specific objectives for 2026? Dear shareholders, we are building the transforming energy world. We're enhancing our resilience in this world. We transform the way we operate, and 2025 has shown that we are on the right track with this strategy. We will also continue to pursue this path consistently in 2026. Now, success proves us right. Since the beginning of the fiscal year, the share price increased by 71%, EUR 170 this morning.
For us, this is both an obligation and an incentive. We are convinced that Siemens Energy will continue to grow and will become more profitable, regardless of all the current geopolitical and economic challenges. Our goal is clear: To achieve a leading position with our portfolio in all our markets. That is why we will continue to invest in our manufacturing and technology base in 2026. A good EUR 3.5 billion investment in our locations and in research and development speak for themselves. We're adapting our capacities to the markets, so we expand our production facilities when customer demand requires it, and on the other hand, we reduce capacities when demand is lacking, consistently and responsibly. Let's take onshore wind, for example.
The number of our production sites has been concentrated from 10 to 4, with higher productivity, lower costs, and greater competitiveness. For you, as shareholders, what this means is profitable growth step by step. With the application of artificial intelligence, we are driving efficiency and customer benefits in our company using artificial intelligence. AI and robotics are fundamentally changing our manufacturing processes. This is shown in the video from our switchgear factory in Shanghai. Innovation is created when data and precision come together. In our Shanghai plant, you see what digitization can do. It's where robots assume assembly processes in large switchgear for the power grid. Artificial intelligence supports us to be faster and to detect aberrations early on. With this consistent digitization, we increase productivity and secure a high level of quality, which has a global effect.
The technology transfer to other plants shows you how AI and automation can be transferred for better competitiveness and measurable customer benefit. Not only in manufacturing, but also in the service business, we rely on AI, which accounts for around 1/3 of our orders. Service, as you know, is particularly high margin. This business drives on consistent data and end-to-end processes. Let me also give you an example here, for which I'm getting a turbine blade here that we're using in our gas turbines. This turbine blade is hollow inside. It's ceramically coated. It is hollow because it needs to permanently be cooled, because it faces temperatures, depending on the gas turbine, of up to 1,700 degrees centigrade. An AI-supported model now tracks those turbine blades, which heat up significantly during operation.
The model helps us to replace those blades exactly at the right time. In other words, not too early and not too late, which extends their service life, it reduces costs, and also increases the benefits for our customers. Thank you. It's quite heavy. At the same time, we are also bringing AI-based products to market for power transmission. The grid, the power grids can not only be monitored, but can also be actively protected against threats and dangers. We increase grid utilization and provide robust power grids. At the end of the day, it means better security of supply, lower cost, a clear measurable added value for our customers. Also, we use internally AI applications, the automation of processes and increased efficiencies. This shows us that Siemens Energy is in excellent technological shape.
At the same time, we're also improving our internal performance in the sense of providing more responsibility in the business areas and fewer coordination loops, making us faster, more agile, more efficient. All employees should be able to focus on what truly matters, namely, to grow the benefit and the satisfaction of our customers. That is our focus. All of this will enable us to successfully pursue our goals for the 2026 fiscal year: Revenue growth of between 11%-13%, a profit margin before special items of 9%-11%, net income in the range of EUR 3 billion-EUR 4 billion, and a free cash flow of EUR 4 billion-EUR 5 billion. Our goal is for you to continue to benefit from Siemens Energy in 2026.
The results for the 1st quarter of 2026 show that we have had a very successful start to the fiscal year. Especially the high demand for Grid Technologies and gas turbines have been a major contributor. These developments create a solid foundation for a balanced allocation of capital. At the same time, our shareholders will receive attractive returns in the form of dividends and share buybacks. Now, as we announced, we're proposing today a dividend of EUR 0.70 per share for fiscal 2025, and by the end of fiscal 2028, we plan to repurchase our own shares worth of up to EUR 6 billion. All of this shows that we're using your capital effectively. We're increasing the value of the company, essentially allowing you to participate directly in the success of Siemens Energy.
Dear shareholders, we have big plans for 2026. Our strategic priorities are setting the right direction. We have ambitious financial goals, and we do this from a position of strength. Our operational performance is on track. Our order backlog is at a record high of EUR 146 billion. We're looking to the future with full confidence, especially in a time that is full of global noise, and therefore, one thing is crucial: We're focusing on what matters. Not every noise is relevant, if you will, but the one signal that guides us is very clear. It is a structural shift towards electricity, towards electrification, and a sustainable industry, and we're excellently positioned for this. We are continuously increasing our profitability. Growth and margins go hand-in-hand for us. Efficiency, discipline, and operational excellence remain integral parts of our action.
By 2028, we're aiming for annual revenue growth in the low, double-digit range. At the same time, we want to achieve a profit margin before special items of 14%-16%. These goals are an expression of our confidence and the strength of our company and our strategy and our employees. Siemens Energy is on track. We're creating value, we are growing, and you, ladies and gentlemen, will be on this journey together with us. We are energizing society to make sure that people have affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy sources at their disposal. More than 104,000 employees of Siemens Energy stand for this. Thank you very much for your trust and your support. It's great to have you here today. Thank you very much.