Engineering company ABB reports 31 pct drop in Q2 net profit to $675 million

ABB’s Q2 net profit drops 31 pct to $675 million

ZURICH — Swiss-based electrical engineering company ABB Group on Thursday posted a 31 percent drop in second-quarter net profit as orders fell due to the global economic recession.

Profits for the quarter reached $675 million, down from $975 million in the same period last year.

Still, the results beat analyst expectations that the company, which specializes in power infrastructure and industrial automation equipment, would post a net profit of $571 million.

Orders sank by 35 percent to $7.31 billion compared with $11.27 billion in the year-ago period. ABB said it booked restructuring costs of $120 million in the quarter.

“The economic environment remains challenging, although there are growth opportunities driven by the need for more intelligence and automation in the power network, and the generation and integration of renewable energies,” said Chief Executive Joe Hogan.

“While we’ll continue to focus on adjusting costs quickly, we also aim to take advantage of these opportunities to extend our market leadership,” he added.

Shares in ABB closed up 4.34 percent on the Zurich exchange to 18.77 Swiss francs ($17.58).