Industrial conglomerate Siemens AG said Wednesday it would set aside approximately 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) to be booked in the last quarter of its 2008 fiscal year for any settlements related to ongoing corruption investigations at the company.

The company's fiscal year ended in September.

In a brief statement, the Munich-based maker of everything from trams to wind turbines, said the provision was "in connection with the settlement being sought by the company and with authorities in Germany and the United States."

"This current estimate is based on the status of ongoing discussions being held between the company and authorities in Germany and the U.S. The company will make no further comments on the ongoing proceedings," the statement said.

The company did not comment further about the provision and its finances.

UniCredit analyst Roland Pitz welcomed the news, saying it meant that the corruption issue was essentially over.

"The sum is also lower than many had expected. There was talk of a settlement as high as 3 billion euros ($3.9 billion)," he told The Associated Press.

"This will be booked in the company's fourth quarter as a one-time effect," he said, adding that it would likely be offset by one-time gains from proceeds derived from the 11.4 billion euro sale of Siemens' auto parts division VDO to Continental in 2007.

"From this point of view, Siemens' net profit will be affected, but not as bad as it could have been had Siemens booked the provision in 2009," Pitz said. "From a financial perspective, it's good to book it last year. It's history."

Siemens has acknowledged dubious payments to secure business of up to 1.3 billion euros ($1.7 billion) in the corruption case that became known last year. An investigation commissioned by Siemens has found evidence of violations across the company and in several countries.

In July, Siemens said it planned to sue two former chief executives and nine other former executives for alleged supervisory failings in the corruption scandal that has cost the company millions in fines and damaged its reputation.

Last year, Siemens agreed to pay a 201 million euro fine that brought to an end some of the proceedings in Germany.

Shares of Siemens closed down 2.9 percent at 48.92 euros ($63.51) in Frankfurt .

Source: AP News