ABB's U.S. Operations Show Growth As Company Continues To Evolve.

Business Editors

NORWALK, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 10, 2000

The U.S. operations of ABB, the global technology company, benefited from continued strong economic growth in the United States in 1999. Revenues increased to $4.7 billion from $4.3 billion, reflecting improved project execution and product delivery cycle times. Exports continued to be a large part of ABB's business in the United States, about 25 percent of total revenues for the year.

The 1999 results are disclosed in the 1999 annual review of ABB in the United States. Released today, the 44-page report celebrates ABB "Brain Power" and the company's increasing emphasis on knowledge- and service-based solutions for its customers.

"The ABB that greeted the new millennium is a visibly different organization from the ABB of only a year ago," said D. Howard Pierce, president and chief executive officer of ABB Inc. "The company continues to evolve toward a culture that fosters partnering with our customers to ensure their success, and the acquisition, sharing, and application of knowledge at all levels of the organization."

Orders at U.S. operations totaled $4.4 billion in 1999, compared with $4.3 billion the year before.

In the automation segment, a 28 percent increase in orders to approximately $1.7 billion was attributable to the acquisition of Elsag Bailey and its successful integration with ABB. Included in 1999 results was a $66 million order for robots from the United States Postal Service.

Orders in the power transmission and distribution segments increased to $1.3 billion in 1999, up from $1.0 billion in 1998. As deregulation and privatization continue to transform the electric power industry, demand for systems solutions have increased, as evidenced by a $100 million contract from Commonwealth Edison for a far-reaching expansion and upgrade of its power transmission and distribution system.

Following record-level orders in 1998, orders in the Oil, Gas and Petrochemicals segment were relatively unchanged in 1999 at $1.3 billion, due to lower oil prices and a difficult market environment. Orders included a $15 million contract awarded by Saipem SPA of Milan, Italy, to ABB Vetco Gray to construct an ultra deepwater drillship riser system. A major contract was awarded to a joint venture of ABB Lummus Global and JGC by BASELL Eastern (Pte) Ltd., Singapore, for the engineering, procurement, and construction of a styrene monomer and propylene oxide plant to be built on Seraya Island, Singapore.

In the building technologies segment, orders totaled approximately $221.3 million and included a five-year full-service contract with Fletcher Challenge of Canada Ltd. - the largest such ABB partnership ever.

The financial services segment played a key role in several thermal power development projects around the world in 1999. These included a 288 MW gas-fired plant at Azito, in the Ivory Coast; a 128 MW coal-fired plant in Australia; and a 541MW combined-cycle plant in Mexico.

In support of U.S. policy for the Korean peninsula, ABB has signed contracts to supply equipment and services for two nuclear power stations to be built for the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO). The contracts, worth approximately $200 million, are with HANJUNG (Korea Heavy Industries and Construction Co. Ltd.) and KOPEC (Korea Power Engineering Company).

ABB, with U.S. headquarters at ABB Inc. in Norwalk, Conn., serves customers in automation; power transmission and distribution; oil, gas and petrochemicals; building technologies; and financial services. U.S. operations employ over 16,000 people at manufacturing and other facilities in 40 states http://www.abb.com/us. Worldwide, ABB Group reported revenues of $25 billion in 1999. With novel IT applications, tailored software solutions, growing eBusiness, and a fast-expanding knowledge and service base, ABB is building links to the new economy. The Group employs about 165,000 people in more than 100 countries.