Mumbai, Jan. 27: The board of Siemens Limited has approved a split of the company’s stocks in the ratio of 1:5. This means, every share of the company with a face value of Rs 10 each will be split into five shares of Rs 2 each.

The board has also okayed a proposal to acquire 50 per cent stake in Flender Limited, a joint venture between Flender AG and Babcock Borsig India Ltd.

“We are looking at opportunities for widening our strategic partnerships and merger and acquisition activities if it supports our portfolio,” said Siemens’ managing director J, Schubert.

In 2005, Siemens AG had acquired a majority stake in Flender AG, a manufacturer of industrial gear boxes.

Siemens will also go ahead with its plan to acquire the isolator business of the Pune-based Elpro International Limited.

For the first quarter ended December 2005, the company has reported an after-tax profit of Rs 49 crore, reflecting a growth of 56 per cent over the previous corresponding figure of Rs 31.4 crore.

Siemens’ sales turnover went up by 69 per cent to Rs 851.1 crore from Rs 503.1 crore in the same period the previous year. Its profit before tax grew 58 per cent to Rs 70.4 crore (Rs 44.5 crore).

During the December quarter, the company bagged new orders worth Rs 4,162.3 crore compared with Rs 817.1 crore in the same period last fiscal. However, Siemens’ unexecuted contracts stood at Rs 7,075.9 crore as on December last, up 188 per cent from last year’s Rs 2,454 crore.

“We were successful in finalising two large orders during the quarter, which pushed up our order volume. The merger of Siemens VDO business into Siemens Limited has widened our portfolio and given us better competitive edge in the automotive sector,” said Schubert.