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[grupo guitarlumber] 17/3/2009 11:00

ABB Wins $400 Million Order In Kuwait





Edited Press Release

ZURICH -(Dow Jones)- Swiss electrical engineering company ABB Ltd. (ABBN.VX) said Tuesday it won a $400 million contract from Kuwait's Ministry of Electricity and Water for three new substations to improve the country's electrical transmission grid.

ABB will design, supply, install, test and commission the substations, which will increase transmission voltage from 300 kilovolt, or kv, to 400 kV. The higher voltage will help strengthen the grid's reliability and increase its capacity to meet rising demand for electricity.

Key components include gas-insulated switchgear, 12 large power transformers, low-voltage auxiliary systems and network protection and control equipment. The project is scheduled for completion in 2011.

"Our technologies and global presence enable the expansion and strengthening of power infrastructure around the world," said Peter Leupp, head of ABB's Power Systems division. "These substations will reinforce the transmission network and boost capacity in Kuwait, to help meet the region's growing demand, increase energy efficiency and improve the quality of power."

Increasing the transmission voltage will enable Kuwait's grid to be connected to neighbouring Gulf Cooperation Council, or GCC, countries, already operating at 400 kV. The first substation at this voltage in Kuwait was also built by ABB as part of the GCC initiative to interlink Gulf states.

Substations facilitate efficient transmission and distribution of electricity, and include equipment for the protection and control of electrical power. ABB has delivered around 10,000 substations worldwide, at voltages of up to 800 kV.


Company Web Site:
-Zurich Bureau, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]

[ariane] 06/3/2009 15:18

ABB to showcase new rail technology at Railtex 2009
2009-03-06




ABB will be showcasing its latest developments in railway technology, equipment and services at the 2009 Railtex exhibition, 10-12th March at Earls Court, London, stand 422.


ABB's RED615 protection and control device

The exhibition will see the launch of two new ABB products. The RED615 is a protection and control device, suitable for utility and industrial systems. Featuring a single tool for Intelligent Electrical Device (IED) settings, signal configurations and disturbance record handling, the RED615 is ready made for the protection of overhead lines and cable freedom. This enables it to be set up and commissioned once it has been programmed with the application specific settings.

The REF615 dedicated feeder protection relay is designed to provide absolute protection, measurement and supervision of utility substations and industrial power systems. The new relay switch features high-speed busbar protection, without the need for hard-wired copper cabling between switchgear cubicles. The REF615 is protected by fast, three-channel arc fault protection ensuring increased personal safety, reduced material damage and minimum system downtime.

Accompanying these products will be a range of ABB low voltage products including the Triline enclosure range, Slimline XR, SMISSLINE Miniature Circuit Breakers (MCBs), DOC software and din rail mounted components and other Low Voltage switchgear products. Across the three day event visitors to the ABB stand will have the opportunity to interact with ABB product specialists, who will be on-hand to demonstrate products and answer questions on ABB's product range.

ABB will also be running two seminars addressing the major issues currently affecting the rail industry. The first of the two seminars, titled "Optimisation of protection and control using IEC 61850" will take place on Tuesday, 10th March at 12.40pm.

The recently launched standards are designed to be future-proof, providing capabilities to accommodate the changing requirements from the rail industry. This seminar explores how ABB is implementing the new standards at the heart of its protection and control philosophy.

ABB's second seminar, "The 'FACTS' about power quality for railway power transmission networks" will take place on Wednesday 11th March at 11.50am. ABB's FACTS system (Flexible AC Transmission Systems), is designed to enhance security, capacity and flexibility of power transmission networks providing the tools to counteract imbalances and mitigate harmonics, helping to deliver a balanced power output.

ABB has been extensively involved in several major UK rail projects including the West Coast Main Line, Channel Tunnel, London underground network, Southern Region Power Supply Upgrade, involvement in the London Transport Power PFI as well as contracts in many parts of the world. ABB has a strong service record, offering full maintenance and repair, cable laying and jointing, transformer servicing, protection and control systems and substation installation, alternation and extension.

Trevor Gregory, ABB UK Managing Director commented: "Railtex provides an ideal platform for ABB to demonstrate its railway expertise. We want visitors to gain a full understanding of what we can offer and how we can help meet their needs."

[waldron] 28/2/2009 18:50

2/28/2009 9:48:00 AM


Barron's: The Smart Way To Play The Green Revolution
On Main Street, Green is the new Black. On Wall Street, however, most green investments generated a sea of red ink last year. When the wheels came off stock markets around the globe in the fourth quarter of 2008, alternative-energy and clean-technology shares were among the hardest hit.

The 88-stock WilderHill New Energy Global Innovation index, a popular green-industry benchmark, ended the year down 61%, versus a 38.5% slide in the Standard & Poor's 500. This year, the NEX -- a mix of mostly small- to mid-capitalization wind, solar, biofuel and energy-conservation leaders from 21 countries -- is off about 22%, lagging the S&P's 17% decline.

Other clean-tech indexes, exchange-traded funds and mutual funds, including the vaunted Winslow Green Growth Fund (ticker: WGGFX), haven't fared much better, and in some cases have done worse, while venture-stage green companies have been starved of capital or blocked on their way to the public markets.

Brian Fan, senior director of research for the Cleantech Group, cites 80 green companies in the latter boat, burning through a collective $2 billion of venture-capital money with little prospect of going public any time soon. "The companies we talk to are trying to stay solvent," says Fan. Indeed, the same might be said of their financial backers, and other green-oriented investors.

A global recession and bear market deserve much of the blame for the carnage in green-tinged shares, as does a $100-a-barrel plunge in oil prices, which suddenly made the drive for sustainable-energy alternatives seem less pressing. Moreover, many clean-tech companies are small and speculative in nature, and serve end markets that depend on government subsidies -- not a particularly attractive investment attribute. Former solar-energy highfliers such as First Solar (FSLR) and LDK Solar (LDK) faced additional challenges last year from sharply escalating prices for polysilicon, the raw material used in solar cells.

In toting up the losses, it is tempting to wonder whether green-themed investing was just a sustainable version of sock puppets -- that is, another Wall Street fad. But such musings couldn't be more misguided. In the U.S., President Barack Obama has just pledged to spend billions on environmentally friendly technologies, while Congress is planning to put more money and muscle behind the search for energy alternatives and pollution controls (see page 28).

Energy Secretary Steven Chu recently told Barron's sister publication, The Wall Street Journal, that his agency intends to fast-track billions of dollars in loans for alternative-energy projects already "in the pipeline," and that he will try to get roughly half the $37 billion already set aside for clean-tech capital projects distributed within the year. That is just a down payment on much more ambitious economic initiatives, and is mirrored by similar endeavors abroad.

Greater government funding bodes well for some pure plays in the solar, wind, ethanol and biomass industries. But it bodes even better, near term, for well-established, diversified and financially healthy companies like Switzerland's ABB (ABB), Florida utility FPL Group (FPL), Waste Management (WMI), Jacobs Engineering (JEC) and electrical-products supplier Eaton (ETN). All are visible and increasingly powerful players in areas given spending priority: energy conservation, infrastructure renewal and the build-out of a "smarter" power grid.

To be sure, more public and private spending will benefit alternative-energy giants like General Electric (GE), the biggest U.S. supplier of wind turbines, and United Technologies (UTX), a leader in making buildings more energy-efficient. Johnson Controls (JCI), Honeywell (HON), AES (AES) and others that make sensors and systems needed to optimize HVAC (heating, ventilating and air-conditioning) also belong on any list of likely green winners.

So do a handful of midsized players in the fast-growing wind-energy-generation supply chain, such as Kaydon (KDN), a maker of ball bearings critical to wind-turbine efficiency; Woodward Governor (WGOV) a specialist in energy-generation and transmission components; MasTec (MTZ), a builder of generation and transmission facilities, and Valmont (VMI), which makes transition towers and other utility structures. "All are profitable, old-line industrials projecting double-digit growth in 2009 and trying to reinvent themselves," says Ed Mitby, an analyst at Van Eck Associates.

But we consider ABB, Waste Management, FPL, Jacobs and Eaton a sort of green dream team, for all the reasons, and then some, explained below. They probably aren't the first names that come to mind when you think "green," but they have the products, technologies and, not least, the financial strength to deliver for investors. Even better, their stocks are bargains.

A provider of power and automation systems, ABB tops most shortlists of companies likely to benefit from large-scale energy projects and conservation initiatives. Among other things, the 125-year-old industrial giant is one of the world's biggest builders of electricity grids.

With credit frozen and demand constrained, ABB faces the same challenges as other industrial outfits. But the company, profiled favorably in Barron's last spring ("The GE of Europe is a Major Power Player," May 19, 2008), is better positioned to benefit from more government and industry spending on infrastructure upgrades around the world, says Van Eck's Mitby.

Headquartered in Zurich, ABB sells large-scale electrical circuitry, robotics and energy-monitoring and automation systems. It seems to land one multimillion-dollar infrastructure contract after another, including a recent $63 million deal to upgrade a power station in Saudi Arabia. Renewable-energy projects will need ABB's products and services, and its technology, including power-management sensors and load-balancing systems, has kept it ahead of most competitors, says Morningstar analyst Daniel Holland.

ABB's shares have been cut by almost two-thirds, to 12, from their high last May, and now trade for nine times 2009 estimated earnings of $1.32 a share, a discount to the S&P 500's price/earnings multiple. Granted, last year's earnings were higher, at $1.74 a share, slightly exceeding expectations. Morningstar puts the company's fair value at 19 a share, some 62% above last week's close. Investors can collect a 46-cent annual dividend (for a current yield of 3.8%) while waiting for the global economy to jump-start.

ABB recently shed some poorly performing assets in an efficiency drive of its own. The company boasts a strong balance sheet, and net cash (cash minus debt) of $5.4 billion, or $2.40 a share, Holland notes. It has used excess cash to boost its payout and buy in shares. Twelve-month return on equity of 28.39% is more than three times that of its peer group, which includes industrial outfits such as Emerson Electric (EMR) and Danaher (DHR).

"We are in the sweet spot of energy efficiency and of climate change," chief financial officer Michel Demare told Barron's last spring. For ABB, it is about to get sweeter.

As the nation's leading producer of energy from wind and solar power, FPL Group is at the forefront of commercialization of these technologies. The Juno Beach, Fla.-based company also is the largest power generator in one of the nation's most populated states. Its regulated utility arm, Florida Power & Light, serves 4.5 million customers and contributes just over half of revenue, which totaled $16 billion last year.

A slightly smaller, but faster-growing revenue stream flows from FPL's recently re-christened NextEra Energy Resources subsidiary. This unregulated clean-energy producer sells power throughout the U.S., using a diverse set of low-cost generation assets strategically situated around the country to balance the load. Last year, 38% of Next- Era's capacity came from wind power, which has benefited from the recent extension of production tax credits. NextEra's net income roughly tripled in 2008.

The credit crisis and weakening consumer demand have led NextEra to slow the pace of expansion in its wind-power operations, but the company "already controls a fourth of this nation's installed wind-energy capacity," notes Morningstar analyst Ryan McLean. "Nationwide, total capacity is somewhere around 25,000MW [megawatts], and NextEra has 6,375MW and growing."

Wind is a relatively low-cost and profitable revenue stream for the company, which expects total profit to grow by double-digits through 2010. FPL reported adjusted earnings of $3.84 a share last year, of which Next- Era contributed $2.04. The company could $4.07 this year, and $4.54 in 2010.

Although its regulated utility has experienced reduced demand, FPL is better-positioned than most. Moreover, Florida's relatively favorable regulatory environment encourages additional investments in capacity that could boost the utility's earnings.

FPL emits less carbon than most other utilities, and will benefit from a "greenhouse gas-constrained regulatory environment," says Ken Stern, a San Diego money manager. But the company stands to profit most from national initiatives to expand wind-energy generation and bolster transmission facilities. "Transmission development had double-digit growth prospects before the credit crunch, and now, favorable legislation is coming in terms of taxes and the fast-tracking of capex [capital-spending] opportunities," says Van Eck's Mitby. The company recently launched a new venture: hybrid hydraulic/electric alternatives for fleet-vehicle propulsion, including one system built with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Designs vary, but basically capture energy from braking and other subsystems to augment or replace the traditional diesel engine. Particularly promising for city buses, delivery trucks and other vehicles that start and stop frequently, the EPA estimates such powertrains could produce fuel savings of 20% to 40%, and cut carbon emissions by as much as 40%.

So far, those vehicles are limited to pilot programs, but the "pilots" include big customers like United Parcel Service, Federal Express and Wal-Mart, as well as school buses used as far away Melbourne, Australia and Guangzhou, China. Eaton has many competitors, but unlike others that dream of replacing the combustion engine, it has been an automotive-technology leader since 1911.

With 2008 sales of $15.4 billion, the Cleveland-based company has the design, manufacturing and financing in place to scale its ideas. Its truck group alone sells $2.3 billion of transmission and hybrid-power and exhaust systems for trucks, buses and agricultural equipment. Eaton knows its customers, and the costs and challenges of operating in 150 different countries. But its strengths also raise concerns.

"I like Eaton, but I'm worried about its earnings [expectations] earnings being overly optimistic due to its heavy exposure to the auto industry," says Ken Stern, the San Diego investment manager.

Morningstar analyst John Kearney is more upbeat, noting an aggressive acquisition strategy has diversified the company's revenue and profits. Draconian cost-cutting measures also have helped. Eaton earned $6.83 a share in 2008. This year, management is guiding profit expectations downward to between $4.20 and $5.20 a share; the wide range reflects economic uncertainties.

Eaton has paid a dividend for 85 years, and yields 5.41%. Its current payout, $2 a share, must have been of some comfort to investors, whose shares have lost about half their value in the past year, and now trade around 36. At least one savvy holder used the opportunity to snap up more stock: Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) upped its stake in Eaton in the fourth quarter to 3.2 million shares, from 2.9 million.

Like Buffett, we don't know where Eaton will trade in a month or a year, only that the products, services and ingenuity of Eaton and companies like it are making the world greener and cleaner. When the smoke -- or is it carbon? -- clears, they and their shareholders are likely to rewarded.

[waldron] 26/2/2009 10:24

ABB: Not Significantly Impacted By Dollar Movements
Wed, Feb 25 2009, 14:52 GMT



ABB: Not Significantly Impacted By Dollar Movements

ZURICH -(Dow Jones)- Swiss electrical engineer ABB Ltd. (ABB), which reports earnings in U.S. dollars, said Wednesday the company's earnings and sales aren't significantly impacted by dollar movements.

A spokesman for the company told Dow Jones Newswires that around half of the company's operations are linked to the U.S.-dollar region, which includes currencies that are pegged to the U.S. currency.

In times of erratic currency movements, the company is able to shift production and balance the currency movements, the spokesman said, pointing to the company's broad global reach.

Shares of Novartis AG (NVS) fell Wednesday after the company said that the strengthening dollar will hurt its first quarter earnings.

Shares of ABB were up 1.9%, or CHF0.25, at CHF13.57 at 1428 GMT.

Company Web Site: www.abb.com

-By Goran Mijuk, Dow Jones Newswires, [phone]; [e-mail]

Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 25, 2009 09:52 ET (14:52 GMT)

[waldron] 26/2/2009 09:49

ABB opens generator production site in China
An ABB Automation Tech (Drives and Motors) product story Edited by the Processingtalk editorial team Feb 26, 2009

ABB has opened a production facility in China for the manufacture of low-voltage generators.

ABB Tellhow Generators, a joint venture between Tellhow Sci-Tech and ABB (China), will produce advanced low-voltage synchronous generators.

The facility is located at the Nanchang National High and New Technology Industry Development Zone.

ABB Tellhow Generators has a factory floor space of 10,0000m2, with an additional 2,600m2 for office buildings.

The goal is to design and manufacture low-voltage synchronous generators with an annual production capacity of 6,000 units.

The site meets ABB's environmental protection standards and employs energy-saving technology as well as a professional waste treatment system to ensure environmentally-friendly production.

[waldron] 23/2/2009 18:48

ABB breaks new ground on the North Sea floor
Monday, Feb 23, 2009
An innovative, ABB-designed system that uses an underwater cable to connect a pump motor on the floor of the North Sea to a frequency converter on an oil platform 31 kilometers away has passed a string test for the Tyrihans oil field, off the coast of Norway.
By ABB Communications

A general practice of the oil and gas industry is to verify the operation of equipment and systems before installation by conducting a 'string test demonstration' at the factory that simulates site conditions.

Despite the technical challenges, the ABB system passed with flying colors. "In the world of technology, frontiers are made to be broken," commented ABB project manager Ole Meyer in Bergen, who worked on the project for more than two years.

Production at the Tyrihans oilfield will employ five subsea skids installed on the seabed 300 meters (1,000 feet) underwater. One of them will use a 2.5-megawatt (MW) pump motor to inject raw seawater into the oil reservoir, raising pressure in the field to facilitate oil extraction.

Tyrihans will deliver oil and gas by pipeline to the existing Kristin oil and gas platform 31 kilometers away. An ABB ACS1000 frequency converter installed on the platform will ensure the pump motor at the extraction site runs at optimal voltage.


The problem is motors and converters are usually in the same room, not separated by 31 kilometers of open sea and a 300-meter dive to the seabed.

To connect them ABB engineers had to stretch the technology to its limits. "We were really challenged," said Meyer. "It's a world record, as far as we know."

Due to come onstream in 2009, the Tyrihans oil and gas field is one of the biggest offshore development projects on the Norwegian continental shelf in recent years, and installing the right electrical equipment in the field is essential to its success.

A frequency converter is an electronic device that is often used to control the speed or torque of AC motors in pump or fan applications, achieving significant energy savings.

It will also ensure the pump motor on the injection skid gets safe, high quality power and stays in peak working order underwater.

The distance separating motor and converter meant ABB had to carry out extensive dynamic simulations to determine how the electrical system would behave.

Simulations showed that it was possible to meet the customer's technical requirements, and also supplied important input for the design of additional equipment ABB is supplying to this project, including special transformers, control software for the frequency converter and system controller software.


ABB in Bergen collaborated closely with colleagues in Turgi, Switzerland (for the frequency converter), and ABB in Vaasa, Finland (for the topside and subsea transformers).

In addition to the unusual pump motor-converter connection, ABB is also supplying the biggest subsea transformer it has ever delivered for the injection skid on the sea floor.

For the Kristin platform, ABB will supply specially designed transformers, frequency converters and a controller with newly developed software to power subsea motors, and ensure optimal operation of the injection pumps.

The subsea cable and platform equipment will be installed in 2009-2010.


Facts and figures

StatoilHydro is the operator and biggest stakeholder of Tyrihans, which is one of the biggest developments on Norwegian continental shelf in recent years
The field consists of five subsea templates: four for production and gas injection, and one for raw seawater injection
Pumps will suck in 14,000 cubic metres of untreated seawater each day, and inject this and gas into the reservoir to create optimal pressure
The wellstream will be transferred to the Kristin platform via a 43-kilometer long electrically-heated pipeline
The field is scheduled to come on stream in 2009


Source: ABB

[sheeneqa] 23/2/2009 14:57

ABB wins $63-million power order in Saudi Arabia
Upgraded substations will increase capacity and strengthen power network

Zurich, Switzerland, Feb. 17, 2009 – ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has won an order worth $63 million from the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), Saudi Arabia's national power transmission utility, to upgrade 15 substations in the country's Eastern and Central provinces.
The substations are spread over an area of about 1,000 kilometers, and cover a range of voltage levels from 13.8 kV to 230 kV. The project is scheduled for completion in 2011.

"This upgrade will help distribute more power to meet increasing industrial and residential electricity demand in the region. It will also strengthen the transmission and distribution network and enhance its efficiency," said Peter Leupp, head of ABB's Power Systems division.

ABB will provide a turnkey solution including design, engineering, supply, installation, testing and commissioning. The products to be supplied include power transformers, medium voltage switchgear, protection and control equipment, as well as SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) solutions to enable better power monitoring and control.

Substations are key installations in the transmission and distribution grid that facilitate the transformation of voltage levels and the distribution of electrical power. ABB has an installed base of around 10,000 substations worldwide, across a range of voltage levels up to 800 kV.

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 120,000 people.

[waldron] 23/2/2009 10:55

ABB Receives $62 Million Order In Oman





Edited Press Release

ZURICH -(Dow Jones)- ABB Ltd (ABB) Monday said it has won an order worth approximately $62 million from Vale (RIO) to supply electrification and automation systems and related equipment for a new iron ore pellet plant in Oman.

ABB said the new Vale plant, 230 kilometers northwest of Muscat, is expected to produce up to 10 million tons of iron ore pellets per year.

Scheduled to start operations at the end of 2010, the facility will provide the Middle East region with iron ore and pellets for the steel industry.

ABB will provide complete electrification and automation solutions for the plant to maximize productivity, monitor energy use and minimize energy consumption.

The scope of supply includes ABB's Extended Automation System 800xA for process control and system integration, a collaborative production management system, all medium voltage and low voltage power distribution systems, transformers, drives, motors, and other auxiliary equipment, as well as the substation infrastructure and engineering.

Company Web Site:

-Zurich Bureau, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]

[ariane] 21/2/2009 18:50

ex divi date apparently end of july

[ariane] 19/2/2009 09:09

ABB China maintains robust growth in 2008By Li Fangfang (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-02-19 15:12 Comments(0) PrintMailSwiss engineering firm ABB on Thursday announced strong results for its China operations in 2008, including record revenue of $4.1 billion, up 21 percent year-on-year, taking ABB China's average annual growth rate in the past five years over 20 percent.

Related readings:
ABB opens new design center
ABB powers up China biz with $100m
ABB says China is top market





ABB China Chairman and President Brice Koch told a press conference that ABB's strong pace of investment in China continued in 2008, reaching $190 million during the year. The company's total investment in the country to date now stands at more than $1 billion.

In 2008, ABB launched two new joint ventures and expanded many facilities in China, including R&D and companies manufacturing energy-efficient solutions.

ABB China employed more than 15,000 people by the end of 2008, an increase of 2,200 compared to the end of the previous year. ABB purchases in China in 2008 totaled $2.7 billion, a 29 percent increase over 2007.

Exports from its Chinese operations in 2008 increased 83 percent, the result of increasing recognition of the excellence of ABB's design, manufacturing and engineering services in China, said the company.

"The economic slowdown affected many of our customers last year, so we are also facing a challenge," he said. "But there remains a very strong market demand for technologies to increase energy efficiency, industrial productivity and power reliability, which are ABB's core strengths."

Despite a global economic slowdown that began to be felt in the third quarter of 2008, ABB China's order intake for the year was $4.5 billion, 12 percent higher than 2007, he added.

"Looking ahead, I expect 2009 will be a challenging year for everyone, but trust in the long-term strengths of China's market," Koch said.

"ABB will continue its pace of investment in China, and keep our people competitive with increased training and development opportunities, to ensure we are ready for the next economic take-off."

[sheeneqa] 18/2/2009 15:11

ABB wins $63-million power order in Saudi Arabia
Zurich, Switzerland, Feb. 17, 2009 – ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has won an order worth $63 million from the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), Saudi Arabia's national power transmission utility, to upgrade 15 substations in the country's Eastern and Central provinces.

[ariane] 16/2/2009 09:01

3 months consensus target sfr 17.25

[grupo guitarlumber] 14/2/2009 09:51

February 12, 2009 - 9:46 PM
ABB accelerates move to cheaper markets
Image caption: Hogan is prepared to grasp the nettle (Keystone)Swiss-Swedish engineering company ABB will speed up its programme of beefing up operations in emerging markets in the face of deteriorating market conditions.
The firm said it must reduce costs and exploit higher demand for its services in countries including Mexico and Poland after profits and orders fell appreciably last year.

ABB announced on Thursday that net profits tumbled by 17 per cent in 2008 to $3.1 billion (SFr3.6 billion). This included an 88 per cent fall in fourth-quarter net profit to $213 million.

The company that specialises in equipment and services for the energy and automotive sectors also cautioned that orders had fallen by about ten per cent in the last three months of 2008 – particularly large scale projects. It plans to reduce costs by $1.3 billion in the next two years.

ABB revealed that it has built or expanded 30 plants in emerging markets in the last year. Staff in countries including Estonia, Vietnam, Brazil and Egypt now make up 44 per cent of total headcount compared with 30 per cent four years ago.

No evacuation
New chief executive Joe Hogan would not comment directly on how this could affect jobs in developed markets, including the home bases of Switzerland and Sweden. But he told swissinfo that the focus was on expanding operations in cost efficient countries.

"It's going to accelerate. We have to do that in the sense of the economic environment that we are faced with," he said. "Obviously when order rates are down ten per cent in the fourth quarter, with some businesses down 30 per cent, then we have to take cost actions."

Hogan, who joined the group a year ago after the shock departure of former CEO Fred Kindle, added that cost reductions would only be made in underperforming divisions in countries with low demand.

"This will not be a complete evacuation from high-cost to low-cost countries," he said. ABB increased its staff by 8,000 last year to 120,000.

The company also hopes to cash in on infrastructure projects in developed countries financed by a raft of government stimulus packages.

Positive signs
Annual profits were hit by a previously announced $870 million provision largely to cover the costs of investigations in the United States and Europe into suspect payments and alleged anti-competitive practices between 2004 and 2007. Of that sum, $140 million was earmarked for restructuring costs.

ABB said it would halt its SFr2.2 billion ($1.9 billion) share buyback scheme until further notice to safeguard its $5.4 billion cash stockpile. The firm spent $650 million on company takeovers last year and said it would continue to look at small to mid-sized targets.

Hogan admitted that the immediate future was uncertain, but insisted that the company would not cut its previously announced growth targets until 2011.

ABB has enjoyed a remarkable turnaround in fortunes after facing bankruptcy at the turn of the century.

"Orders were down as customers delayed projects or cut capital expenditures. But the long-term drivers of our business – to increase energy efficiency, secure reliable power and improve industrial productivity – have not changed," he said.

swissinfo, Matthew Allen in Zurich

ABB 2008 FULL-YEAR RESULTSNet profit: $3.1 billion ($3.76 billion in 2007)
Revenues. $34.9 billion ($29.2 billion)
EBIT (earnings before interest and tax): $4.55 billion ($4 billion)
Total staff: 120,000 (112,000)
A shareholder dividend of SFr0.48 per share has been proposed.

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ABB IN EMERGING MARKETSABB employed 52,659 staff in emerging markets (EMs) in 2008, compared with just under 30,000 in 2004.

The proportion of total group headcount rose from 30% to 44%. Some 45% of all manufacturing employees are based in EMs.

The group has increased its sourcing spending (procurement of goods, materials and services) from EMs by $5 billion since 2005. EMs will provide 40% of the group's total sourcing by 2010, according to ABB plans.

ABB built or expanded 30 manufacturing plants in EMs last year. The company plans to expand both manufacturing and engineering capacity in these countries in future.

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ABB statement (
ABB share price (

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[grupo guitarlumber] 12/2/2009 19:11

source: ft

ABB details moves in erratic markets
By Haig Simonian in Zurich

Published: February 12 2009 18:15 | Last updated: February 12 2009 18:15

ABB on Thursday stepped up its restructuring programme and said it would suspend share buy-backs, as the Swiss-Swedish engineering group reacted to what it called the most unpredictable markets in memory.

The response came as the group, which surprised investors with a sharp fall in large orders in the third quarter, said weakness had continued into the final three months.

EDITOR'S CHOICE
ABB issues profits warning on legal rows - Dec-19ABB appoints former GE healthcare chief - Jul-17Orders for products, such as power lines, transformers and automation equipment, fell 19 per cent to $7.2bn in the fourth quarter.

As in the previous quarter, the declines were for "big" orders worth more than $15m, which dropped by half in local currency terms, although smaller orders fell only 2 per cent in the period.

Joe Hogan, ABB's chief executive, said uncertainty about the world economy and extreme irregularity in order inflows made an outlook statement impossible.

He said orders in the final quarter had been down in October, extremely weak in November and resilient in December.

ABB said it did not expect any big improvement in the world economy this year. However, the group retained its medium-term profit and efficiency goals, on expectations of a recovery in infrastructure orders, notably in electricity, through special government spending programmes.

ABB's $24bn order backlog, forecast productivity gains and a faster shift into services further underpinned that confidence.

Mr Hogan said ABB would take one-off restructuring charges of $300m this year and $160m in 2010, after $140m in 2008, to cut costs by an annual $1.3bn.

He declined to quantify job losses, but said ABB would accelerate sourcing from lower cost locations and continue relocating factories as required. General and administrative costs would be squeezed by 10 per cent.

But Mr Hogan, selected to become chief executive after a career at General Electric partly on a mandate to boost growth, said ABB would also use its strong balance sheet to pursue opportunisticacquisitions.

While the group would avoid large deals, he said ABB's SFr5.4bn ($4.6bn) net cash and low 17 per cent gearing left it well placed.

Net profit in the fourth quarter fell to $213m after $870m in provisions, mainly for pending legal investigations. Sales rose 5 per cent to $9.14bn. For the full year, net profits declined 17 per cent to $3.12bn, while sales climbed 20 per cent to $34.91bn.

[grupo guitarlumber] 12/2/2009 12:47

SG says buy with a target of sfr18

ABB buy (Société Générale Group S.A. (SG))Rating-Update:
Paris (aktiencheck.de AG) - Gerard Moore, Gael de-Bray und Roderick Bridge, Analysten der Société Générale, stufen die Aktie von ABB (ISIN CH0012221716/ WKN 919730) mit dem Rating "buy" ein. Das Kursziel werde bei 18 CHF gesehen. (12.02.2009/ac/a/u)
Analyse-Datum: 12.02.2009

[waldron] 06/2/2009 08:47

Outsourcing

A quick fix
Feb 5th 2009
From The Economist print edition

Companies are seeking outsiders' help to squeeze more out of their equipment


AS CAR dealers know only too well, the global downturn has made people think twice before splashing out on pricey new machines. Instead they are trying to make their existing sets of wheels last longer. Like car owners, managers faced with a cash crunch are also keen to get as much extra mileage as possible out of their existing equipment rather than buying costly new gear. To do so, some have been turning to "asset maintenance" companies, which specialise in taking over all or part of a firm's servicing activities and then running them more efficiently.

"Downturns have always been good for the maintenance-service business," says Jari Kaija, the head of the global service arm of ABB, a Swiss-Swedish firm that is one of the biggest in the asset-maintenance field. This slump is unlikely to break that rule. A recent study by Frost & Sullivan, a research firm, predicts that the $125 billion market for outsourced-maintenance services in North America will continue to grow as firms push ageing machines to their limits on the one hand, and try to reduce head count on the other.

More deals are likely in Europe, too. In January ABB kicked off what it claims is the biggest-ever outsourced-maintenance agreement in the pulp-and-paper industry. Together with Stora Enso, a Finnish paper-products firm, it has set up a joint venture to take over servicing and repairs at six of Stora's Finnish mills. Some 1,450 of Stora's staff have been transferred to the new company, which is expected to have up to $270m a year in revenues. Stora has been badly battered by the downturn and urgently needs to cut costs. On February 5th the company announced that it made a net loss of €675m ($988m) in 2008, following a net loss of €212m in 2007.

Outsourcing firms such as ABB and Advanced Technology Services (ATS), an American company, promise to help clients save money not only by offloading repair workers, but also by getting remaining ones to work better. They can reduce costs by consolidating spare-parts suppliers, introducing more sophisticated machine-monitoring systems and encouraging better forward-planning and co-operation between engineering and production staff. Rod Bayliss, a manager who oversees outsourced maintenance for Eaton, an American industrial company with $15 billion in annual sales, says ATS has helped it anticipate problems with machinery.

Outsourcing firms sometimes discover that their clients are spending too much to keep machines up and running. "It's often engineers at play," quips Andrew Jardine, the director of the Centre for Maintenance Optimisation and Reliability Engineering at the University of Toronto. Bill Wasilewski of Fluor, another American asset-maintenance firm, says it sometimes has to persuade clients that occasional breakdowns are acceptable because the cost of preventive maintenance turns out to be far greater than the cost of lost production when a machine temporarily fails.

The downturn means that many factories are lying idle. Some bosses may be tempted to axe maintenance work-and workers-altogether, because they have plenty of spare capacity. But that could be risky. For one thing, mothballed plants may suddenly need to be brought back to life if demand shifts. Getting them running again will be much more difficult if equipment has been neglected. For another, firms could all too easily lose vital knowledge that is locked up in the heads of their in-house repair folk. That really would throw a spanner in the works.

[waldron] 03/2/2009 17:46

ABB Is Whistleblower In EU Power Cable Cartel Probe - Source





ZURICH -(Dow Jones)- Swiss electrical engineering company ABB Ltd (ABB) was the whistleblower in the ongoing European Commission investigation into alleged price fixing in the submarine power cable market, according to a person familiar with the matter.

"ABB is the whistleblower", said the person, who declined to be named.

ABB also declined to comment.

-By Goran Mijuk, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]