Munich - Siemens posted a 2.4-billion-euro (3 billion dollars) final quarter loss, mainly as a result of restructuring costs and efforts to root out corruption, the German engineering giant said Thursday.

In the corresponding quarter of the previous business year, the company reported a loss of 74 million euros.

Turnover in the three months up to the end of September in the 2007-2008 business year increased 7 per cent to 21.7 billion euros, while orders were up 4 per cent at 22.2 billion euros, Siemens said.

The reported third quarter operating losses – nearly $7.2 billion combined - for General Motors Corp and Ford Motor Co are worse than what were being feared. This, according to an events expert, raises the possibility that one or both will run out of cash within the next year, thereby giving the shuddering economy yet another blow.

While GM posted a $4.2-billion operating loss, Ford reported loss of $2.98 billion. The two companies said their rate of cash burn had accelerated, as an extended slump in car sales raised questions about the future of the US auto industry.

Contrary to Wall Street's expectations, the global economic downtown has impacted Disney Co.'s quarterly results, harder and faster than expected. Experiencing a sharp decline in hotel bookings and low revenue returns from network advertising, Disney's shares slid 9%, recovering a little after executives stimulated bookings by announcing hotel discounts, during the first half of 2009.

Munich - German luxury carmaker BMW said Tuesday that it was lowering its profits forecast for 2009, following disappointing third-quarter results.

Profits plunged 62.9 per cent to 298 million euros (375 million dollars) compared to the same quarter of 2007, the company said in a statement released in Munich.

Turnover was down 8.6 per cent to 12.59 billion euros as global sales dropped 4.2 per cent to 349,098 vehicles, the company said.

Oslo - Norwegian energy giant Statoil Hydro's third-quarter net income fell 57 per cent, the group said Monday, citing a stronger US dollar rate that pushed up tax rates.

Net income for the quarter was 6.3 billion kroner (937 million dollars), compared to 14.6 billion kroner in the corresponding business period of 2007.

Net operating income increased 31 per cent to 47 billion kroner, while turnover was up 35 per cent to 170 billion kroner, the group said.

The Indian Oil Company (IOC) has incurred a loss of Rs 7,047 crore in the second quarter ending Sept 30.The loss is believed to be more than Rs 6,963 crore that the company made in 2007-08.

The company in the first half of the year 2008-09 lost Rs 6,632 crore, as against a net profit of Rs 5,286.16 crore in the same period last year.