ABB India net profit slips 4% in Dec qtr, declares Rs 5/share dividend

ABB India on Wednesday reported over 4 per cent decline in its net profit to Rs 62 crore for December quarter.

Its net profit was Rs 65 crore in the quarter ended December 2019, the company said in a statement.

The company follows January to December financial year.

Its revenues declined to Rs 1,701 crore in the quarter from Rs 1,953 crore in the same period a year ago.

The reported profit for the quarter is after considering the one-time impact of Rs 93 crore in two divisions of Industrial Automation to de-risk and ramp down exposure largely in legacy projects in the power generation segment, ABB India MD Sanjeev Sharma said.

"Excluding this one-time impact, the profit for the quarter stood at Rs 173 crore (an increase of 16 per cent Y-on-Y (year on year) and 52 per cent Q-on-Q (quarter on quarter) compared to Rs 150 crore, same quarter last year, on like to like basis.

"With these proactive one-time measures, we believe we are now well placed for the next level growth in aforementioned divisions and other businesses, as evident in the order growth year-on-year," Sharma added.

The Board of Directors of the company have recommended a dividend of Rs 5 per equity share of the face value of Rs two each for the year ended December 31, 2020.

In 2020 (January to December), the company' net profit declined to Rs 230 crore from Rs 302 crore in 2019.

Its revenues also came down to Rs 5,821 crore in 2020 from Rs 7,315 crore in 2019.

"2020 was a year of unprecedented challenges, but ABB's agile business model helped to navigate headwinds and deliver profitability for the year, thanks to our team pulling strongly together. During the year, we built a strong cash reserve with a focus on collections and cash optimisation," Sharma said.

"With a strong order backlog, our timely execution and value adds for our customers, we remain optimistic for 2021. In light of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, we are closely monitoring our key market segments, which are expected to gradually return to growth."

Its total orders stood at Rs 1,470 crore during the quarter (ended on December 31, 2020) and Rs 5,932 for the year (2020).

Pent up demand and early signs of recovery led to sequential growth in order wins. Collaboration with customers through virtual connections helped enhance engagement. During the quarter, Motion and Industrial Automation business areas posted double-digit growth year-on-year, the company said.