FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Siemens Energy, which makes turbines for the power sector, on Sunday said it swung to a core profit in its fiscal first quarter, helped by cost cuts and unspecified temporary effects.

First-quarter adjusted earnings before interest, tax and amortisation (EBITA) before special items came in at 366 million euros ($445 million), the group said, compared with a 74 million loss in the year-earlier period.

In a statement outlining preliminary results, the group also confirmed its outlook, still expecting sales to rise by 2-12% in the year to September, while the margin on adjusted EBITA before special items is seen at 3-5%, up from a negative 0.1%.

Spun off from Siemens AG last year, Siemens Energy makes and services steam turbines for gas- and coal-fired power plants and also owns a 67% stake in Siemens Gamesa, the world’s second-largest maker of wind turbines.

New orders fell 26% to 7.4 billion euros in the first three months of the group’s fiscal year, while sales were up 2.6% at 6.5 billion euros.

Siemens Energy, in which Siemens AG owns 35% directly and 10% via its pension fund, will publish full results for the first quarter on Feb. 2. Siemens Gamesa is scheduled to report results on Jan. 29. ($1 = 0.8218 euros)

(Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Michael Nienaber and Alex Richardson)