By John Revill
ZURICH--ABB Ltd (ABBN.VX) on Wednesday posted
better-than-expected first-quarter earnings as a host of big
contracts helped the world's largest builder of electrical power
grids weather the headwinds caused by a stronger dollar.
Zurich-based ABB, which also makes industrial robots, said net
profit for the three months ended March 31 rose 3.7% to $564
million from $544 million a year earlier. A Dow Jones Newswires
survey of analysts forecast profit of $541 million.
Sales declined 9.6% to $8.56 billion from $9.47 billion a year
earlier. Analysts had forecast $8.41 billion.
The performance reflects ABB's success at landing a handful of
big contracts, including a $900 million order to connect power
grids in Norway and Germany. The large deals helped ABB blunt the
impact of a strong dollar, the company's reporting currency, which
reduced the company's reported sales in the eurozone and other
regions.
(Neil MacLucas contributed to this article.)
-Write to John Revill at john.revill@wsj.com
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