2nd Quarter Result

ABB Ltd
26 July 2007

Q2 net income doubles to $729 million

   • Continued strong global demand for power and automation technologies
   • Orders up 26%, revenues up 27%, higher in all regions
   • Growth and strong business execution produce 14.4% EBIT margin on EBIT
     of $1 billion

Zurich, Switzerland, July 26, 2007 - ABB today reported a strong increase in
orders, revenues, earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) and net income for
the second quarter of 2007 as the result of continuing robust demand in all
regions and businesses and further improvements in business execution.

EBIT in the quarter rose to $1 billion on a 27-percent increase in revenues (21
percent in local currencies), leading to an EBIT margin of 14.4 percent compared
to 11.4 percent in the same quarter of 2006. Net income doubled to $729 million
while cash flow from operating activities increased to $396 million.

'Our second quarter was marked by continued strong growth with outstanding
operating margins,' said Fred Kindle, ABB President and CEO. 'As a market and
technology leader, ABB continues to benefit from increased global investments in
energy efficiency as well as power and industrial infrastructure. Our
profitability benefited from the combination of market strength and our ongoing
focus on business execution.'
                                          
2007 Q2 key figures
key figures                                Q2 07     Q2 06 (1)     Change
----------------------                   --------    -------     -----------
$ millions unless otherwise indicated                               US$    Local
----------------------                   --------    -------   --------- ------
Orders                                    8,666      6,868          26%     20%
----------------------                   --------    -------   ---------  ------
Order backlog (end June)                 20,435     14,703          39%     33%
----------------------                   --------    -------   ---------  ------
Revenues                                  7,143      5,641          27%     21%
----------------------                   --------    -------   ---------  ------
EBIT                                      1,030        645          60%
----------------------                   --------    -------   ---------  ------
as % of revenues                           14.4       11.4
----------------------                   --------    -------   ---------  ------
Net income                                  729        367          99%
----------------------                   --------    -------   ---------  ------
as % of revenues                           10.2        6.5
----------------------                   --------    -------   ---------  ------
Basic net income per share ($)             0.32       0.17
----------------------                   --------    -------   ---------  ------
Cash flow from operating activities         396        338
----------------------                   --------    -------   ---------  ------
(1) Adjusted to reflect the reclassification of activities to discontinued
operations

Summary of results

Orders received continued to grow strongly in the second quarter as the result
of very high demand across all of ABB's markets, particularly in the power
sector.

Regional grid interconnections in Europe to make more efficient use of existing
power generation capacity, along with power infrastructure expansion in the
Middle East, continued to be the key growth drivers for the power divisions in
the second quarter. As a result, the volume of large orders (more than $15
million) almost doubled to about $1.4 billion compared to the same quarter in
2006.

In the automation divisions, steady growth in industrial demand continued,
especially in the metals and minerals sector, where high commodity prices are
driving customer investments in both new capacity and to make existing assets
more productive. High oil prices continue to fuel investments in more
energy-efficient industrial processes across most sectors. Order growth rates in
the automation divisions have slowed modestly, as expected, but remain at
attractive levels.

Revenues in the second quarter grew by more than 20 percent over the
year-earlier period on a combination of higher product sales in the second
quarter as well as increasing revenues from large orders booked in earlier
quarters. As a result of the continued high level of order intake in the second
quarter, the order backlog continued to expand and amounted to more than $20
billion at the end of June 2007.

Higher EBIT and EBIT margins were reported across all divisions on a combination
of higher revenues, strong project execution, increased production and
engineering in low cost countries and other operational improvements.

The increase in net income resulted mainly from higher EBIT and a lower tax
rate. Also contributing to the higher net income was an improvement in net
finance expense resulting from lower debt levels as well as the non-recurrence
of $60 million in costs related to the induced conversion of ABB's $968-million
convertible bonds and the exchange offer for certain other bonds, completed in
the second quarter of 2006.

Cash flow from operating activities improved compared to the second quarter of
2006 despite increased investments in working capital to support growth. Cash
flow from financing activities included dividend payments to shareholders during
the second quarter of approximately $450 million.

ABB's financial position remained strong in the second quarter, with net cash of
$2.4 billion at the end of the period, approximately the same as at the end of
the previous quarter. Gearing at the end of June, 2007 was 25 percent compared
to 26 percent at the end of the first quarter (please refer to Appendix II on
page 9 for more information). Following the conversion during the first half of
2007 of approximately 80 percent of ABB's CHF 1-billion convertible bonds
maturing in 2010, the company has decided to exercise its right to call the
remainder of the bonds, with a face value of approximately CHF 200 million,
effective September 10, 2007.

ABB employed approximately 111,000 people at the end of the second quarter of
2007, an increase of about 2,000 compared to the end of the first quarter of
this year.

Management appointments

ABB announced the appointment of Ravi Uppal, regional manager of South Asia and
country manager for India, to the ABB Group Executive Committee as president of
Global Markets, effective July 1, 2007. He replaces Dinesh Paliwal who left ABB
at the end of June. In his new role, Uppal will be responsible for all ABB
regions and countries as well as the Group Account Management function.

Compliance

On July 13, 2007, ABB disclosed to the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission suspect payments made by employees of company
subsidiaries in Asia, South America and Europe, in particular Italy. These
suspect payments were discovered as a result of ABB's internal audit and
compliance program. The payments may be in violation of the Foreign Companies
Practices Act or other applicable laws. If ABB is found to have violated any of
these laws, the company could be liable for penalties and other costs and the
violations could otherwise negatively impact its business. ABB is cooperating on
these issues with the relevant authorities and is continuing its internal
investigations and compliance reviews.


Divisional performance Q2 2007

Power Products division

2007 Q2 key figures                       Q2 07     Q2 06(1)        Change
---------------------                    --------    -------   --------------
$ millions unless otherwise indicated                             US$     Local
---------------------                    --------    -------  --------  --------
Orders                                    2,780      2,411        15%       11%
---------------------                    --------    -------  --------  --------
Order backlog (end June)                  6,654      4,931        35%       29%
---------------------                    --------    -------  --------  --------
Revenues                                  2,472      1,821        36%       30%
---------------------                    --------    -------  --------  --------
EBIT                                        418        245        71%
---------------------                    --------    -------  --------  --------
as % of revenues                           16.9%      13.5%
---------------------                    --------    -------  --------  --------
Cash flow from operating activities         286        160
---------------------                    --------    -------  --------  --------
(1)Adjusted to reflect the reclassification of activities to discontinued
   operations
                                     
Orders grew in the second quarter in all businesses and regions. Investments by
utility customers in North America and Europe to strengthen and refurbish grid
infrastructure fuelled strong growth, especially in the transformers business.
In Asia and the Middle East, orders rose as customers continued to invest in new
infrastructure to support economic growth.

Revenues were up in all businesses compared to the same quarter in 2006 on
higher volumes and prices, resulting in a sharp increase in EBIT. The strong
EBIT margin mainly reflects high levels of factory loading, productivity
improvements, and effective supply management measures to control material costs
and availability.

Power Systems division

2007 Q2 key figures                       Q2 07      Q2 06         Change
---------------------                    --------    -------   --------------
$ millions unless otherwise indicated                             US$     Local
---------------------                    --------    -------  --------  --------
Orders                                    2,217      1,388        60%       50%
---------------------                    --------    -------  --------  --------
Order backlog (end June)                  7,415      4,900        51%       44%
---------------------                    --------    -------  --------  --------
Revenues                                  1,300      1,031        26%       20%
---------------------                    --------    -------  --------  --------
EBIT                                        109         62        76%
---------------------                    --------    -------  --------  --------
as % of revenues                            8.4%       6.0%
---------------------                    --------    -------  --------  --------
Cash flow from operating activities          (4)        31
---------------------                    --------    -------  --------  --------

The sharp increase in orders received in the second quarter was primarily the
result of large orders in the quarter more than doubling compared to the same
quarter in 2006. Large orders won in the quarter included a subsea
interconnection between the United Kingdom and the Netherlands aimed at
increasing the efficiency of the European power grid, as well as large
substation orders in the Middle East to support economic development in Abu
Dhabi. Base orders (less than $15 million) also increased strongly, up 27
percent (20 percent in local currencies), reflecting the continuing favorable
market situation in all businesses and regions.

Revenues increased across all businesses versus the same quarter in 2006 on
execution of the strong order backlog. EBIT and EBIT margin increased
significantly due to higher revenues, improved capacity utilization and ongoing
benefits from improved project selection and execution.

Cash flow from operating activities decreased compared to the same quarter in
2006, reflecting the working capital requirements of large projects being
executed.

Automation Products division

2007 Q2 key figures                       Q2 07      Q2 06         Change
---------------------                    --------    -------   --------------
$ millions unless otherwise indicated                             US$     Local
---------------------                    --------    -------  --------  --------
Orders                                    2,221      1,957        13%        8%
---------------------                    --------    -------  --------  --------
Order backlog (end June)                  3,136      2,218        41%       35%
---------------------                    --------    -------  --------  --------
Revenues                                  2,147      1,684        27%       21%
---------------------                    --------    -------  --------  --------
EBIT                                        374        262        43%
---------------------                    --------    -------  --------  --------
as % of revenues                           17.4%      15.6%
---------------------                    --------    -------  --------  --------
Cash flow from operating activities         318        222
---------------------                    --------    -------  --------  --------

Markets continued to develop favorably in the second quarter of 2007. Order
growth for standard products remained strong while engineered products and
system order growth was flat compared to the very high levels seen in the same
period a year ago. Geographically, the strongest growth was in China, South
America, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

Revenues increased compared to the same quarter in 2006 due to higher volumes
and price increases covering higher raw materials costs. Revenue growth and high
levels of capacity utilization were the primary drivers of a 43-percent increase
in EBIT and a higher EBIT margin versus the second quarter of 2006.

Process Automation division

2007 Q2 key figures                       Q2 07      Q2 06         Change
---------------------                    --------    -------   --------------
$ millions unless otherwise indicated                             US$     Local
---------------------                    --------    -------  --------  --------
Orders                                    1,937      1,682        15%       10%
---------------------                    --------    -------  --------  --------
Order backlog (end June)                  4,799      3,611        33%       27%
---------------------                    --------    -------  --------  --------
Revenues                                  1,586      1,300        22%       16%
---------------------                    --------    -------  --------  --------
EBIT                                        167        120        39%
---------------------                    --------    -------  --------  --------
as % of revenues                           10.5%       9.2%
---------------------                    --------    -------  --------  --------
Cash flow from operating activities         107        178
---------------------                    --------    -------  --------  --------

Demand for automation solutions, reflected in both base and large orders,
continued strong in all sectors. High commodity prices drove investments to
expand capacity in the metals and minerals business. Other industrial customers
continued to invest in greater energy efficiency in the face of high oil prices.
Orders were higher in all regions except Europe, where a number of large marine
orders won in the second quarter of 2006 were not repeated this year.

Revenues in the quarter grew significantly, reflecting the execution of the high
level of orders taken in recent quarters. Revenues were higher in all parts of
the business. EBIT and EBIT margin were up on higher revenues combined with
continuing operational improvements and tighter execution of large projects.

Cash flow from operations decreased from a year ago, reflecting the working
capital required to execute the large number of systems orders taken during
2006.

Robotics division

2007 Q2 key figures                       Q2 07      Q2 06         Change
---------------------                    --------    -------   --------------
$ millions unless otherwise indicated                             US$     Local
---------------------                    --------    -------  --------  --------
Orders                                      392        268        46%       40%
---------------------                    --------    -------  --------  --------
Order backlog (end June)                    582        460        27%       22%
---------------------                    --------    -------  --------  --------
Revenues                                    339        332         2%       (2%)
---------------------                    --------    -------  --------  --------
EBIT                                         19          7      n/a
---------------------                    --------    ------- --------   --------
as % of revenues                            5.6%       2.1%
---------------------                    --------    -------  --------  --------
Cash flow from operating activities           9         43
---------------------                    --------    -------  --------  --------

Orders increased significantly in the second quarter compared to the low levels
of the year-earlier period. Orders were higher from both general industry, such
as packaging, consumer electronics and food, and the automotive industry. Orders
were higher in all regions, led by Europe.

Revenues in local currencies were lower than in the same quarter of 2006 as the
result of the low order levels in most of 2006. EBIT and EBIT margin improved
reflecting the successful efforts to improve cost efficiency and project
execution, as well as the non-recurrence of costs taken in the same quarter last
year associated with a large project.

Cash flow from operating activities declined in the quarter as inventories were
built up to meet the needs of higher orders received in the previous two
quarters.

Non-core activities and Corporate

Non-core activities in the second quarter generated EBIT of $8 million. A final
gain of approximately $40 million on the completion of the previously-announced
sale of two Equity Ventures investments in April, 2007, was offset by the
write-down of another investment, in line with the company's strategy to divest
its non-core activities.

Outlook for the remainder of 2007

The business environment for ABB during the rest of 2007 is expected to remain
in line with the positive market situation seen in 2006 and the first half of
this year.

Demand for power transmission and distribution infrastructure is expected to
continue on a high level in all regions. Equipment replacement and improved
network efficiency and reliability are forecast to be the drivers of higher
demand in Europe and North America.

Automation-related industrial investments are expected to continue at a high
level in most sectors, although below the levels seen in 2006. Overall,
automation-related demand growth is expected to be strongest in Asia and the
Americas in 2007, with more modest growth in Europe.

In addition, ABB is well-positioned to benefit from increasing investments by
customers to mitigate climate change with energy-efficient products and systems.

Order growth is expected to continue on a high level but to moderate somewhat
over the remainder of 2007, compared to the extraordinarily high order growth
rates experienced in 2006 and the first half of 2007.


More information

The 2007 Q2 results press release and presentation slides are available from
July 26, 2007 on the ABB News Center at www.abb.com/news and on the Investor
Relations homepage at www.abb.com/investorrelations.


ABB will host a media call today starting at 10:00 a.m. Central European Time
(CET). U.K. callers should dial [phone]; from Sweden, [phone];
from the U.S. and Canada [phone]; and from the rest of Europe, +41
91 610 56 00. Lines will be open 15 minutes before the start of the conference.
Audio playback of the call will start one hour after the call ends and will be
available for 72 hours: Playback numbers: [phone] (U.K.), +41 91 612
4330 (rest of Europe) or [phone] (U.S./Canada). The code is 314,
followed by the # key.

A conference call for analysts and investors is scheduled to begin today at 3:00
p.m. CET (9:00 a.m. EDT). Callers should dial [phone] (from the U.S.
/Canada) or [phone] (Europe and the rest of the world). Callers are
requested to phone in 10 minutes before the start of the call. The audio
playback of the call will start one hour after the end of the call and be
available for two weeks. Playback numbers: [phone] (U.S./Canada) or +41
91 612 4330 (Europe and the rest of the world). The code is 208, followed by the
# key.


Investor calendar 2007
-----------------------------                                 ------------------
ABB Strategy Day                                                    September 5,
-----------------------------                                 ------------------                       
Q3 2007 results                                                      October 25,
-----------------------------                                 -----------------
                                                                 
ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable
utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering
environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100
countries and employs about 111,000 people.


Zurich, July 26, 2007

Fred Kindle, CEO


Important notice about forward-looking information

This press release includes forward-looking information and statements including
the section entitled 'Outlook for the remainder of 2007,' Appendix I, as well as
other statements concerning the outlook for our business. These statements are
based on current expectations, estimates and projections about the factors that
may affect our future performance, including global economic conditions, the
economic conditions of the regions and industries that are major markets for ABB
Ltd. These expectations, estimates and projections are generally identifiable by
statements containing words such as 'expects,' 'believes,' 'estimates,'
'targets,' 'plans' or similar expressions. However, there are many risks and
uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, that could cause our actual
results to differ materially from the forward-looking information and statements
made in this press release and which could affect our ability to achieve any or
all of our stated targets. The important factors that could cause such
differences include, among others, the amount of revenues we are able to
generate from backlog and orders received, raw materials prices, market
acceptance of new products and services, changes in governmental regulations and
costs associated with compliance activities, interest rates, fluctuations in
currency exchange rates and such other factors as may be discussed from time to
time in ABB Ltd's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission,
including its Annual Reports on Form 20-F. Although ABB Ltd believes that its
expectations reflected in any such forward-looking statement are based upon
reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that those expectations will be
achieved.


For the full press release, please refer to our website, www.abb.com.


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