ABB Posts Rise In Q4 Earnings, Lifts Dividend

posted a 30% gain in its earnings for the three months to Dec. 31. ABB's quarterly net profit surged to $680 million, versus a year-ago profit of $525 million. Earnings per basic share increased to $0.30 versus $0.23, while operational earnings per share came in at $0.34. Its revenue declined to $10.35 billion, from $11.37 billion, versus estimates of $10.79 billion. ABB proposed a dividend to 0.72 Swiss francs, compared to 0.70 francs, a year ago. At the end of December, the order backlog totaled $25 billion. "2014 was a demanding year where we had to overcome the challenges of Power Systems and a low order backlog," said CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer. "We delivered on our ambition to achieve full-year profitability in Power Systems and took decisive actions to drive organic growth, cost-out and cash generation." ABB shares fell 0.55% to close at $19.84 yesterday.