ABB Q1 Net Income Down, But Revenue Up; Chairman Peter Voser Named Interim CEO

(RTTNews) - Swiss engineering firm ABB Ltd.(ANN.L, ABB) reported Wednesday that its first-quarter net income slid 6 percent, but revenues improved 6 percent, both in US dollars.

For the first quarter, the Group's net income attributable to company declined 6 percent to $535 million, and basic earnings per share also slid 6 percent to 25 cents. However, income from continuing operations, net of tax, stood at $415 million. Operational EBITA gained 2 percent in the quarter to $766 million.

For the first quarter, the Group's revenues rose 4 percent, or 6 percent in US dollars, to $6.847 billion, driven by strong growth in Electrification Products and Robotics and Motion, and a steady performance in Industrial Automation. Service revenues were up 6 percent.

ABB CFO Timo Ihamuotila, said in a statement, "We remain firmly focused on operational performance and the integration of GEIS; excluding the GEIS impact, our operational margin improved. We are well on track with the Power Grids separation and our four new leading businesses started operations on April 1 as planned."

Separately, the Group announced that its Chairman, Peter Voser, has been named interim CEO, in addition to his current role, with immediate effect, after the Group's CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer decided to step down, following a mutual agreement with the Board. The Group said it has initiated an official search to find a new CEO.

Ulrich Spiesshofer has been the CEO of ABB since 2013, while Peter Voser has been Chairman of the Group since April 2015.