ABB Report Solid Q3 2013 Across its Businesses

ABB reported higher revenues, earnings and cash flows in the third quarter of 2013, on improved performance across all divisions.

Financial highlights
    •    Revenues and operational EBITDA higher in all divisions, net income up 10 percent
    •    Base orders return to year-on-year growth, large project awards remain slow
    •    New CEO outlines priorities on growth, collaboration and execution

Orders in early-cycle businesses, driven mainly by customer investments in improved productivity and efficiency, grew compared to the same quarter in 2012, while further delays in large project awards – mainly the result of ongoing economic uncertainties - and the strategic repositioning of the Power Systems division resulted in lower large orders.

“It was a solid quarter where we executed well to grow revenues, earnings, cash and net income despite the continued mixed business climate,” said Ulrich Spiesshofer, ABB’s CEO. “We drove good order growth in a number of key markets, including China and Germany, and our base orders returned to year-over-year growth. Project tendering activity in sectors like power transmission and oil and gas continues to increase but the award of large orders remained slow."

Outlook
“Looking ahead, the long-term growth drivers are fully intact but several forward-looking indicators are mixed and we still face some near-term market uncertainty,” Spiesshofer said. “But even in a volatile environment, our strong market positions, leading technologies and broad business portfolio will allow us to capture profitable growth opportunities. Therefore, we will continue to drive the top line in a very targeted way while executing on cost, business-led collaboration and improved capital efficiency.”