ABB bottom line up by over one third

The Swiss-Swedish engineering group ABB has seen its second-quarter net profit jump by 34 per cent.

The company’s bottom line rose to $975 million (SFr1.01 billion), it said on Thursday, having taken advantage of strong global demand for power generation infrastructure.

The group is benefiting as Europe and the United States replace ageing power systems, while rapid economic growth in emerging economies is forcing countries such as India and China to invest heavily in power infrastructure.

Second-quarter operating profit rose 42 per cent to $1.4 billion on revenue up 27 per cent at $9 billion, while orders rose 31 per cent to $11.3 billion. The earnings before interest and tax margin rose to 16.1 per cent from 14.4 per cent in the year-ago period.

ABB raised its growth outlook for its automation activities to “clearly above ten per cent”, having previously forecast around ten per cent. It reiterated its forecast of about 15 to 20 per cent growth for its power-related activities.

Investors are now looking for clues as to how cash-rich ABB will spend its war chest after it named GE top manager Joseph Hogan as its new chief executive this month. The company was sitting on $6 billion in cash at the end of the second quarter.