Switzerland: ABB Flourishes in Challenging Markets
Image courtesy of ABB
Power and automation technology provider ABB have released their 2015 corporate summary, revealing ABB’s success in a challenging marketplace. With a steady flow of orders, and an increase in orders over $15million, the net income for the year for the group was $1.9billion, with a record $3.2billion returned to shareholders by way of dividend payments and share repurchases.
A growth in demand for power systems and products offset the decreased demand for discrete automation and motion and process automation technologies. At the same time, service revenues were up by 6%. The main drivers for the group’s increased profitability are put down to their power systems and ongoing cost savings and productivity measures.
This success was in spite of the macro uncertainties facing the sectors in which ABB operate. In a cautious market place, investment is cautiously placed in improved grid efficiency and reliability. ABB’s performance in the transport sector was sustained by a strong demand for energy efficient and clean technologies.
ABB CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer said:
“We took decisive actions to improve our customer focus and realized profitable growth in target segments to mitigate the impact of significant market headwinds. At the same time, we simplified the organization, drove productivity improvement and accelerated our cost reductions. As a result, we increased margin and free cash flow . The successful turnaround in Power Systems demonstrates our execution capabilities and our focus on sustainable value creation. With our strong financial position and a leaner, more market oriented organization we are well placed to manage through the global uncertainties which we will continue to face in 2016.”
The following 12 months will focus on ABB’s further profitable growth, expanding into high growth markets including sustainable and energy efficient power solutions, as well as improved productivity and streamlined production methods.