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Investing.com -- ABB (ST:ABB) on Thursday reported record order intake of $9.8 billion in the second quarter of 2025, up 16% from a year earlier, as broad-based demand lifted revenue, margins, and operating earnings.
Revenue rose 8% to $8.9 billion, while operational EBITA increased 9% to $1.7 billion, with the margin improving to 19.2% from 19%.
Income from operations climbed 14% to $1.6 billion, yielding a 17.7% margin. Net income attributable to ABB rose 5% to $1.2 billion. Basic earnings per share increased 6% to $0.63.
Order growth was supported by a $600 million contract in Process Automation. Excluding that, comparable order growth stood at 7%.
The Americas posted the highest order growth at 27%, followed by Europe at 12% and Asia, Middle East, and Africa at 7%.
Electrification recorded $4.5 billion in orders, up 11%, and $4.3 billion in revenue, up 14%. Operational EBITA rose 16% to $1 billion with a 23.9% margin. Growth was led by demand from utilities, commercial buildings, and data centers.
In the Motion segment, orders increased 5% to $2.1 billion, while revenue rose 6% to $2.1 billion. Operational EBITA gained 5% to $407 million, with the margin slipping to 19.8% from 19.9%.
Process Automation orders surged 45% to $2.6 billion, driven by the large booking. Revenue increased 5% to $1.8 billion. Operational EBITA rose 10% to $290 million, and the margin improved to 15.9%.
Robotics & Discrete Automation posted $729 million in orders, up 6%, while revenue fell 2% to $813 million.
Operational EBITA declined 20% to $74 million, with the margin dropping to 9.1% from 11.1%. The segment continued to face weak demand in Machine Automation, though Robotics improved.
Gross profit rose 8% to $3.6 billion, with a margin of 40.2%. Cash flow from operating activities was $1.06 billion, down 1% year-on-year.
Free cash flow declined 8% to $845 million, impacted by increased working capital and higher capex of $224 million.
Net debt rose to $3.7 billion from $2.5 billion, driven by dividends, share buybacks, and currency impacts. ABB repurchased 7.9 million shares for $430 million in Q2.
In the first half of 2025, orders totaled $19.0 billion, up 9%. Revenue reached $16.8 billion, up 5%. Operational EBITA increased 11% to $3.3 billion, with the margin at 19.7%.
ABB plans to spin off its Robotics division in Q2 2026. Other Q2 developments included new robot launches in China, a Battery Energy Storage-as-a-Service offering, and acquisitions in the Electrification segment.
Scope 1 and 2 CO₂e emissions from operations rose 1% to 44 kilotons. The total recordable incident frequency rate declined 7% to 1.49.