German electronics and engineering firm Siemens reported a 20 percent rise in first quarter net profit on Tuesday and kept its outlook for 2014.
The group reported net profit of 1.457 billion euros ($1.99 billion) for its first quarter on revenue of 17.3 billion euros. Revenue fell 3 percent year on year. Siemens said new orders were up 9 percent year-on-year at 20.83 billion euros.
The group still sees 2014 earnings per share (EPS) up at least 15 percent from 2013.
Chief executive Joe Kaeser told CNBC that he was "pretty satisfied" with the earnings. "It clearly shows we are on the right track," he said, adding that the group was going to focus on productivity and cost-saving.
He was "satisfied" with the development and demand seen in emerging markets which he said were still "pretty strong" in terms of economic growth and industrialization.
"We are patient, we have the market in focus and we would not be too surprised if we see an uptick any time soon in China's economy," he said. In the group's earnings report, however, Siemens said it expected its markets "to remain challenging in fiscal 2014."
Siemens reported a 4 percent decline in first quarter revenue in emerging markets year-on-year while a double-digit increase in China kept revenue in Asia, Australia level with the prior-year period.
His comments come as emerging markets and their currencies come under increasing pressure from investors. Speculation is rife that the U.S. Federal Reserve will announce a further winding down of its monetary stimulus program on Wednesday,a policy which has largely fueled capital inflows into emerging economies.
- By CNBC's Holly Ellyatt, follow her on Twitter @HollyEllyatt.