BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 5
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Net working capital of ABB amounted to $2,904 million, and decreased 12 percent year-on-year, while it increased from $2,718 million in the prior quarter primarily due to higher contract assets and inventories as well as lower accrual for employee bonuses, Trend reports citing the company.
Net working capital as a percentage of revenues was 10.8 percent, compared with 12.3 percent in the corresponding period last year.
Purchases of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets in the quarter amounted to $142 million.
Net debt totalled $1,233 million, a significant reduction compared with last year’s level of $6,221 million and a sequential increase from $112 million. The sequential increase reflects the impacts of the share buybacks during the quarter as well as the initial dividend payment in the period. The net debt to EBITDA ratio declined to 0.4 from 2.3 reported for the same period last year, while it increased sequentially from 0.04.
ABB intends to return $7.8 billion of cash proceeds from the Power Grids divestment to shareholders through share buybacks. After completion of the initial program, a further share buyback program of up to $4.3 billion was launched on April 9. It is being executed on a second trading line on the SIX Swiss Exchange and is planned to run until the company’s 2022 Annual General Meeting. ABB intends to request shareholders to approve the cancellation of the remaining shares purchased but not approved for cancellation under the initial program as well as those purchased under this new program at its 2022 AGM.
ABB is a leading global technology company that energizes the transformation of society and industry to achieve a more productive, sustainable future. By connecting software to its electrification, robotics, automation and motion portfolio, ABB pushes the boundaries of technology to drive performance to new levels.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn