ABB cuts revenue forecast and reviews power projects unit

ABB cut its revenue growth target on Wednesday and announced a "strategic review" of its low-margin power projects business in what could be a step towards a sale of assets by the Swiss engineering group.

Faced with lower energy prices and a slowdown in China, ABB said it was implementing a $1 billion savings programme, meaning costs of $600 million in the final quarter of the year.

ABB, which makes everything from factory robots to power transformers, is targeting average annual growth in revenue of just 3-6 per cent until 2020, trimming a prior goal of 4-7 per cent.

ABB is combining its low-margin power systems business, which in 2014 booked hundreds of millions in losses on projects including North Sea wind farms, with its Power Products business that sells transformers.– (Reuters)