ABB India H1 orders up 56%, net profit up 73%

Bangalore, 24th July 2006: Statutory results for the period ending 30th June 2006 are enclosed "� comparison of business is as follows:

            H12006  H12005 % chg  Q22006  Q22005  % chg
Orders  28530   18319    56       14511     9379          55
Revenue 18104 12925 40        9895       6730         47
PBT      1916    1105   73       1106      672           65
PAT      1232    711     73        719      436            65

Figs. in Rs. Million (MINR) unless stated otherwise

Orders: The company booked orders worth 28530 MINR during the half-year ended June 2006, 56 per cent higher compared with 2005 H1. This resulted from a record order intake of 14511 MINR, during the second quarter , an improvement of 55 per cent over 2005 Q2. On the power front, the company received significant orders for substations, rural and urban distribution systems and medium voltage equipment, further strengthening its market position within the sector. This was supported by significant success for industrial automation and building solutions projects and a strong growth in the demand for standard products. Recently introduced business streams also made a higher contribution to the order book. In addition to continued confidence from the existing client base, several new customers were added.

"India's macro growth continues to be encouraging especially in terms of industrial production and the capital goods space. The country is making some headway in the power sector, especially in terms of urban and rural distribution but there is a long journey ahead and we certainly need to accelerate our efforts, said Mr. Ravi Uppal, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, ABB India, announcing the company's second quarter and half yearly results. "ABB is making steady progress on its charted growth course, with the wind in our sails, as we create value for our customers through technology, innovation, domain expertise and execution capabilities. At the same time we continue to increase our productivity, strengthen our resource base, sharpen delivery systems and continue to remain focused on operational efficiencies", he added.

Order Backlog: The record order intake during the first two quarters of this year , has further strengthened the order backlog to 31375 from 18575 MINR at the end of 2005H1, a growth of around 70 per cent. The order backlog at the beginning of this year was 21032 MINR

Revenues: The Revenues for the half-year ending June 2006 touched 18104 MINR , registering a 40 per cent rise on the same period last year. This acceleration in revenues was catalyzed by significant enhancement of production and execution capacity. During 2006 Q2 , the company booked revenues of 9895 MINR and recorded a 47 per cent growth compared with the second quarter of 2005, resulting from increase in order intake, conversion of order backlog and higher volumes of standard products and service business.

Net Profit: The company's net profit after tax for the half year ending 30th June 2006 was 1232 MINR showing an improvement of 73 per cent over 2005H1. 2006 Q2 net profit after tax at 719 MINR was 65 per cent higher than the equivalent 2005Q2 profit of 436 MINR . This increase has resulted primarily from higher revenue volumes, check on material and indirect costs, ongoing operational efficiencies and productivity improvements. ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 105,000 people.