By Christopher Alessi 

MUNICH--German engineering giant Siemens AG recorded a strong rise in second-quarter profit, boosted by earnings growth at its power and gas and energy-management divisions.

Operating profit for Siemens's industrial businesses rose 28% to EUR2.12 billion ($2.44 billion), from EUR1.66 billion a year earlier, in the period ended March 31.

Net profit fell 63% to EUR1.44 billion because the year-earlier figure had been buoyed by one-off gains of around EUR3 billion from the sale of its hearing-aid business and its stake in a joint venture with Robert Bosch GmbH.

The company's industrial business profit margin climbed to 10.9%, from 9% last year. Analysts had predicted a total profit margin of 9.8%, according to a recent poll conducted by The Wall Street Journal.

The profit margin at the power and gas business, which has come under pressure in recent quarters due to low global oil and gas prices, rose to 13.6%, from 12.3% during the corresponding period last year. Profitability was boosted by Siemens's resumption of business activities in Iran following the lifting of international sanctions earlier this year.

The profit margin at the energy management unit, which provides power-grid solutions for utility companies, rose to 6.3% from 3.3% last year, boosted by its solutions, transformer and high-voltage products businesses.

Second-quarter revenue rose 5%, to EUR19 billion, while new orders were up 7% at EUR22.29 billion, both boosted by strong growth at the power and gas and wind power and renewables units. Orders were driven by a EUR3.1 billion order for combined-cycle power plants in Egypt--part of a EUR8 billion power generation deal signed with the Egyptian government last year--and a EUR1.2 billion order for a wind farm off the coast of the U.K.

Siemens reiterated its guidance for the current fiscal year, but said the market environment for its high-margin short-cycle businesses "may not pick up materially" in the second half of fiscal 2016 as originally forecast. The company expects earnings per share in a range of EUR6 to EUR6.40 and an industrial business profit margin of between 10% and 11%.

Write to Christopher Alessi at christopher.alessi@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 04, 2016 02:46 ET (06:46 GMT)