ABB net down 91% in March quarter

ABB Ltd-India, a power and automation technology company, saw a sharp drop of 91 per cent in its net profit, to Rs 6.6 crore, for its first quarter (January -March) of 2010 due to foreign exchange losses and cost overruns in some projects.

Revenues, however, saw a rise of 4.5 per cent, to Rs 1,455.8 crore during this period.

ABB also improved its operating cash flows compared to the same period last year, a company press release said.

ABB had got orders worth Rs 1,688.7 crore, a 26 per cent drop as compared to last year.

The order backlog was Rs 8,753.5 crore, a 24 per cent rise during the period over last year.

During this period, industrial activity, particularly minerals, had boosted growth of the process automation business by over 40 per cent, the release said. “The company is now investing heavily in developing competency, particularly in engineering and project management, to take on large technology projects when the market cycle turns upwards,” said Biplab Majumder, vice chairman and managing director.