Engineering firm ABB India on Thursday reported an around 76 per cent decline in net profit at Rs 16.75 crore for the June quarter, mainly due to lower revenues. The company's net profit stood at Rs 69.74 crore in the quarter ended June 30, 2019, it said in a regulatory filing.

Total income declined to Rs 1,012.40 crore in the quarter under review from Rs 1,746.12 crore earlier. The company follows the January-December financial year. For the first half of 2020, its net profit stood at Rs 82.75 crore, down from Rs 158.76 crore in the same period of last year.

Total income came in at Rs 2,580.42 crore, compared to Rs 3,615.49 crore in H1 2019. Total orders for the quarter (April-June) stood at Rs 1,200 crore and for H1 2020 (January to June), it was Rs 3,153 crore.

During the quarter, the company succeeded in securing orders in varied sectors, including power distribution equipment, automation projects for process industries, food and beverage and electronics.

Sectors with continued investment include rail infrastructure, industrial buildings as well as water and waste-water, it said. ABB India continues to have a stable order backlog as of June 30, 2020, at Rs 4,671 crore, widely spread across various end markets, it added.

The company's Managing Director Sanjeev Sharma said, "ABB's business model resilience and robust fundamentals kept its strength despite interim disruptions on account of the COVID-19 crisis and lockdown. H1 2020 (Jan-June) has been impacted due to the global slowdown, however, our order backlog is strong and steady to support us through the coming quarters."

The company said as global uncertainty continues due to the COVID-19 situation, local markets are expected to remain subdued with diminished per capita income. However, ABB said it shall continue to strengthen customer engagements that will aid the recovery period in the "new normal".

In order to tide over the current situation, focus on the right sectors like F&B, data centres, pharmaceuticals, energy, chemicals, and railways and metros, which are likely to demonstrate selective shoots of growth, will be critical, it added.

First Published:Jul 23, 2020 9:46 PM IST