ABB Ltd (ABB) Q1 2020 Earnings Call Transcript

ABB Ltd (ABB) Q1 2020 Earnings Call Transcript

[Operator Instructions] At this time, it's my pleasure to hand over to Jessica Mitchell, Head of Investor Relations.. Following our presentation, we will open the lines for your questions.. The statements are based on the Company's current expectations and certain assumptions and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties.. Order growth surprised on the upside helped by large order, which more than offset somewhat softer short cycle demand in the latter part of the quarter.. In ABB, we have seen strong large order in the transport and in part of the process industries suggesting a bit more resilience in some later cycle end markets.. On slide 7, you can see, total orders of $7.35 billion were up 1% year-on-year on a comparable basis.. In turn all our businesses reported lower margins as expected, and the Group's operational EBITA margin contracted 100 basis points year-on-year to 10.2%.. As part of the Power Grids carve-out process, ABB has eliminated the majority of stranded costs in the continuing group.. In the United States, orders were up 2% on a comparable basis with the country not seeing COVID-19 impact until very late in the quarter.. In Robotics & Discrete Automation, loss production and curtailed