6-K 1 tm2331932d1_6k.htm FORM 6-K december12023
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
Form 6-K
REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE
 
ISSUER PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16
UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the month of December 2023
Commission File Number 001-16429
ABB Ltd
(Translation of registrant’s name into English)
Affolternstrasse 44, CH-8050, Zurich, Switzerland
(Address of principal executive office)
Indicate by check mark whether
 
the registrant files or will file
 
annual reports under cover of Form 20-F
 
or Form 40-F.
Form 20-F
Form 40-F
Indicate by check mark if the registrant
 
is submitting the Form 6-K in paper
 
as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule
 
101(b)(1):
Note:
 
Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1) only
 
permits the submission in paper of
 
a Form 6-K if submitted solely to provide
 
an attached
annual report to security holders.
Indication by check mark if the registrant
 
is submitting the Form 6-K in paper
 
as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule
 
101(b)(7):
Note:
 
Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7) only
 
permits the submission in paper of
 
a Form 6-K if submitted to furnish a
 
report or other
document that the registrant foreign
 
private issuer must furnish
 
and make public under the laws
 
of the jurisdiction in which the
registrant is incorporated, domiciled
 
or legally organized (the registrant’s “home country”), or
 
under the rules of the home country
exchange on which the registrant’s securities are traded,
 
as long as the report or other document
 
is not a press release, is not required
to be and has not been distributed to
 
the registrant’s security holders, and, if discussing
 
a material event, has already been
 
the subject
of a Form 6-K submission or other Commission
 
filing on EDGAR.
Indicate by check mark whether
 
the registrant by furnishing the
 
information contained in this Form is
 
also thereby furnishing the
information to the Commission pursuant
 
to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities
 
Exchange Act of 1934.
Yes
No
If “Yes” is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the
 
registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b):
 
82-
 
This Form 6-K consists of the following:
1.
Press release issued by ABB Ltd dated
 
November 30, 2023, titled
 
“ABB Capital Markets Day 2023: Setting
 
new
standards”.
2
december12023p3i0
FROSINONE, ITALY,
 
NOVEMBER 30,
 
2023
ABB Capital Markets Day 2023:
Setting new standards
 
Future focus on consistency in operating model, accelerating growth and continuous
improvements
 
Upgraded target for long-term comparable revenue growth to 5-7%
 
Increased target for Operational EBITA margin target to 16-19%
 
More ambitious 2030 and 2050 science-based net-zero targets
ABB is hosting its Capital Markets Day today
 
at its Electrification site in Frosinone,
 
Italy. At the event,
CEO Björn Rosengren, CFO Timo Ihamuotila, as well
 
as the Presidents of ABB’s four business areas
will give an update on ABB’s successful transformation,
 
financial targets and how the company
 
will
benefit from key secular trends across its
 
business areas. In addition, ABB’s Group Head of
Sustainability will provide an update
 
on the company’s sustainability agenda, including
 
more ambitious
2030 and 2050 net-zero targets.
Björn Rosengren said: “During the transformation
 
period over the past three years, we aligned
 
the ABB
business portfolio to our purpose of enabling
 
a more sustainable and resource-efficient future through
our technology leadership in electrification
 
and automation. We have achieved strong improvements
 
in
financial and sustainability performance
 
during this phase, supported by increased
 
accountability,
transparency and speed thanks to our ABB
 
Way operating model.
 
“Having set new standards, we are now coming
 
out of this transformation period,
 
and the majority of our
divisions have progressed towards a strategic
 
growth mandate. They now focus
 
on capturing the full
potential of what in my view is a market sweet
 
spot, at the heart of the transition towards
 
electrification,
energy security, energy efficiency, automation and digitalization. Achieving our previous margin target a
year earlier than planned, and being a
 
more agile unit with fast decision-making
 
gives us the confidence
to formulate stronger ambitions and lift
 
our margin target. I am convinced that ABB
 
is extremely well
positioned – now and in future.”
Higher ambitions following transformation
 
phase
As part of its updated financial framework,
 
ABB is lifting its comparable revenue growth target
 
to
5-7 percent through the economic cycle (from
 
3-5 percent previously). The target
 
for acquired growth
remains unchanged at 1-2 percent. The company
 
is also raising its target for annual operational
 
EBITA
margin to 16-19 percent (from ≥15 percent
 
previously) and updating its annual ROCE
 
target to
>18 percent (from 15-20 percent previously).
 
In addition, the company is sharpening
 
its objective for
basic EPS growth through the economic cycle
 
to at least high single-digit (from
 
Basic EPS growth >
revenue growth previously). ABB is also confirming
 
its target of ~100% free cash flow conversion
 
to net
income.
1/3
The update in growth ambitions is based
 
on both external and internal factors
 
including accelerating
demand for sustainability-driven electrification
 
and automation solutions as the world moves towards
common emissions targets aligned with the
 
1.5°C target. Additional support for higher
 
growth is
grounded in new ways of working with ABB’s
 
divisions that are accountable for growth and
decision-making closer to the market
 
as well as a reshaped portfolio around sustainability
 
and resource
efficiency through electrification and automation.
The Group has increased the share of its
 
divisions that are in growth mode now comprising
approximately 70 percent of the Group’s revenues.
 
The focus is on both organic growth,
 
as well as
M&A opportunities that can fill technology
 
gaps, complement divisions’ offering for
 
high growth markets,
provide access to new geographies or
 
enable market consolidation. ABB is aiming
 
at 5 to 10 small to
mid-size bolt-on acquisitions per year.
Returns and cash generation driven by
 
growth ambitions
Timo Ihamuotila said: “We expect that our higher growth will
 
also lead to higher profitability and cash
generation. As a lever to reaching our new financial
 
targets, we are taking the
 
next step on our journey
towards further improved quality of our revenues
 
as well as capital efficiency and productivity. At the
same time our capital allocation priorities remain
 
unchanged.”
 
ABB will also continue to invest in digital where
 
it creates synergies with the company’s offering.
 
As of
2022, approximately 57 percent of orders
 
were related to the software and digitally
 
enabled offering.
Approximately 60 percent of R&D resources
 
are focused on digital solutions which the
 
company will
continue to strengthen with bolt-on acquisitions.
 
Between 2020 and 2023 ABB made
 
26 venture
investments in the areas of technology and
 
digital.
ABB is reiterating its target of maintaining
 
a strong investment grade rating. Its capital
 
allocation
principles remain unchanged: funding organic growth
 
through research & development, channel
 
and
capex investments; paying a rising, sustainable
 
dividend per share over time; executing
 
value-creating
acquisitions; and when applicable returning
 
additional cash to shareholders through share
 
buybacks. In
the past 10 years ABB has returned more than
 
$28 billion to shareholders – either via
 
dividends or
share buybacks.
Sustainability: Ambitious 2030 and 2050
 
science-based net-zero targets
ABB’s technologies are supporting all relevant sectors
 
to optimize, electrify and decarbonize,
 
enabling
the energy transition to a net-zero future. In line
 
with this mission, the company is today
 
providing an
update on how it is strengthening and accelerating
 
its sustainability agenda with new targets
 
and
ambitions.
Björn Rosengren said: “At ABB we have
 
been enabling energy efficiency and electrification for
 
over
140 years. Today,
 
we are putting our leading technologies
 
in electrification, automation, and
digitalization to work to accelerate the energy
 
transition. Our sustainability agenda
 
is fully aligned with
this mission. It focuses on enabling a low-carbon
 
society, preserving resources, and promoting social
progress in collaboration with our customers,
 
suppliers, and partners.”
 
ABB CAPITAL MARKETS DAY 2023:
SETTING NEW STANDARDS
2/3
 
ABB is taking a rigorous science-based
 
net-zero targets approach in line with
 
the net-zero standard of
the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). The company has submitted its new targets to SBTi with
validation expected in 2024. These include
 
1.5°C-aligned Scope 1 and 2 targets aiming
 
at a CO2e
emissions reduction of 80 percent by 2030
 
and 100 percent by 2050 versus a 2019
 
baseline. On a
12-month rolling average, ABB has now achieved
 
a 72 percent reduction in Scopes 1 and
 
2 CO2e
emissions versus 2019. Additionally, the company has set new Scope
 
3 CO2e emissions targets aiming
at a reduction of 25 percent by 2030 and
 
90 percent by 2050 versus a 2022 baseline.
 
With this more stringent approach, ABB
 
is moving away from former carbon
 
neutrality targets, which
included the use of carbon offsets.
 
Following the latest WBCSD avoided
 
emissions guidance, ABB has also
 
updated its ambition in this
area and aims to enable its customers to
 
avoid 600 megatons of CO2e emissions through
 
products sold
from 2022 to 2030. ABB helped its customers
 
avoid 70 Mt of CO2e in 2022, across
 
industry,
transportation, buildings, data centers,
 
and more.
Note to editors:
 
The Capital Markets Day can be followed
 
on the ABB Investor Relations website
 
from
8am CET today via the following link: https://capitalmarketsday.abb.com/page/2861310/registration
Further details on ABB’s sustainability agenda can
 
be found at
 
https://global.abb/group/en/sustainability
ABB
 
is a technology leader in electrification
 
and automation, enabling a more sustainable
 
and
resource-efficient future. The company’s solutions connect
 
engineering know-how and software to
optimize how things are manufactured, moved,
 
powered and operated. Building on more
 
than
140 years of excellence, ABB’s ~105,000 employees
 
are committed to driving innovations that
accelerate industrial transformation. www.abb.com
ABB CAPITAL MARKETS DAY 2023:
SETTING NEW STANDARDS
3/3
Important notice about
 
forward-looking information
This press release includes forward-looking
 
information and statements
 
which are based on current expectations,
estimates and projections about
 
the factors that may affect
 
our future performance,
 
including the economic
conditions of the regions and industries
 
that are major markets for
 
ABB. These expectations, estimates
 
and
projections are generally identifiable
 
by statements containing
 
words such as “anticipates”,
 
“expects,” “believes,”
“estimates,” “plans”, “targets”,
 
“aims” 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
 
or anticipated transactions.
 
Some important factors that could
 
cause such
differences include, among others,
 
business risks associated
 
with the volatile global economic
 
environment and
political conditions, costs associated
 
with compliance activities, market
 
acceptance of new products
 
and services,
changes in governmental regulations
 
and 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. The foregoing list of
 
factors is not exclusive and
 
undue reliance should not be
 
placed upon any
forward-looking statements, including
 
projections, which speak
 
only as of the date made.
For more information
 
please contact:
Media Relations
Phone: +41 43 317 71
 
11
Email: media.relations@ch.abb.com
Investor Relations
Phone: +41 43 317 71
 
11
Email: investor.relations@ch.abb.com
ABB Ltd
Affolternstrasse 44
8050 Zurich
Switzerland
 
 
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities
 
Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant
 
has duly caused this report to be
signed on its behalf by the undersigned,
 
thereunto duly authorized.
ABB LTD
Date: December 1, 2023.
By:
/s/ Ann-Sophie Nordh
Name:
Ann-Sofie Nordh
Title:
Group Senior Vice President and
 
Head of Investor Relations
Date: December 1, 2023.
By:
/s/ Richard A. Brown
Name:
Richard A. Brown
Title:
Group Senior Vice President and
Chief Counsel Corporate & Finance