German industrial conglomerate Siemens reported Wednesday a tentative start to its 2019-20 financial year with falling profits but said it was on track to spin off its energy businesses in September. Net earnings at the Munich-based group, whose products range from trains to factory equipment and wind turbines, fell three percent year-on-year in its October-December first quarter, to just under 1.1 billion euros ($1.2 billion). Weighing on the result were a slump into the red at wind power division Siemens Gamesa, driven by delays to major projects, as well as severance costs related to the first among more than 8,000 job cuts planned across the group over coming years. "The first quarter started slowly as expected," chief executive Joe Kaeser said in a statement.—AFP