ABB shifts towards digital industries after power grids sale
Swiss engineering company upbeat on growth prospects for robotics and automation businesses as fourth-quarter earnings are higher than expected
Zurich — Swiss engineering company ABB fleshed out its latest revamp on Thursday, saying it would focus more on digital industries as it reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings. In its first results since it announced the sale of its $11bn power grids business, ABB was upbeat about the prospects for its robotics and automation businesses as growth drivers. Robotics was ABB’s star performer during the fourth quarter, reporting an 11% rise in revenues and racking up the company’s highest divisional profit margin. The figures helped ABB, whose remaining products include industrial drives and electric vehicle chargers, report net profit of $317m, beating estimates of $301m in an Infront Data poll for Reuters. The figure did not include a contribution from ABB’s power grids business, the division which it agreed to sell to Hitachi in December. CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer said ABB had sharpened its focus on the industrial side of its business, providing better profit margins, low...
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