Siemens sees recovery ahead

December 6, 2001 Posted: 1312 GMT

LONDON (CNN) -- German telecommunications giant Siemens says the mobile phone market is showing signs of recovery and that should help the company cut its losses next year. 

The company posted a net loss of 1.1 billion ($968 million) in the fourth quarter and announced plans last month to shed 17,000 jobs due to the sharp drop in demand for telecom products.

Siemens expects sales to improve in 2002, although the company has not set a specific earnings target for the year.

"But we are confident that we have the right strategies and that our restructuring measures will bear substantial fruit this year," Chief Executive Heinrich von Pierer said in a statement.

"I expect a very good quarter as far as unit sales go."

Siemens says it is looking for new partners to help develop the mobile phone market, and the company still plans to launch its third generation (3G) handsets next year. 

Meanwhile, the company announced on Thursday that it was calling off its alliance with Toshiba of Japan to develop 3G phones, due to delays in the rollout of new high-speed mobile Internet services.

On Wednesday, Siemens announced it was cutting is stake in loss-making chip unit Infineon Technologies to less than 50 percent.