ABB Q1 Profit Climbs; Sees Sequentially Stronger Revenue In Q2, Steady Margin Improvement In FY22

(RTTNews) - Swiss engineering company ABB Ltd.(ANN.L, ABB) Thursday reported that its first-quarter net income attributable grew 20 percent to $604 million from last year's $502 million.

Basic earnings per share were $0.31, up 25 percent from $0.25 last year. Income from continuing operations increased 17 percent to $643 million.

Revenues edged up 1 percent to $6.97 billion from last year's $6.90 billion. Comparable revenue growth was 7 percent. Orders were $9.37 billion, up 21 percent on a reported basis and up 28 percent at comparable basis.

Looking ahead for the second quarter, ABB anticipates that revenues tend to be sequentially stronger in absolute terms, supporting a slight sequential margin increase, assuming no escalation of lock-downs in China.

In full-year 2022, the company expects a steady margin improvement towards the 2023 target of at least 15 percent, supported by increased efficiency.

The company also announced a continuation of share buybacks of up to $3 billion, including the fulfillment of the promise to return the remaining $1.2 billion of proceeds related to the divestment of Power Grids. The new buyback program was launched on April 1.

In addition, the company said it plans for an exit of the Turbocharging business, although the geopolitical uncertainties caused it to delay the final decision on a spin-off or sale to the second quarter.