Blood on the carpet as Siemens takes a tumble

NEWS Siemens has reported a third quarter loss and has ousted the head of its phone network unit. Europe's second biggest mobile phone maker reported losses of E489m (£301m) for the three months ending 30 June. Roland Koch, head of the phone networks unit at Siemens, is leaving the company through "mutual agreement" according to a company statement, but his unit posted the biggest loss in the company at E563m (£346m) before interest, taxes and amortisation. The German company reported a net profit of E1.618bn (£996m), a figure that included E3.459bn (£2.129bn) from the transfer of a stake in chip unit Infineon to its pension fund. After the NYSE closed yesterday, Siemens shares had fallen nearly seven per cent from $53 to $49.4.