ABB LTD (ABB)

[mlkrborn]

ABB profit more than doubles

(2:05 AM ET) PARIS (MarketWatch) -- Engineering group ABBsaid its fourth-quarter profit more than doubled to $540 million, while revenue fell 4% to $8.76 billion. ABB cited lower inventories, efforts to improve customer collections for the profit jump as well as year-earlier provisions for the profit jump. Analysts polled by Capital IQ had forecast a $519 million profit on revenue of $8.6 billion. ABB is upping its dividend by 6% to 0.51 Swiss francs a share. Its cost saving program now aims to sustainably reduce ABB's costs - comprising both cost of sales as well as general and administrative expenses - from 2008 levels by a total of $3 billion by the end of 2010, compared with the previously announced level of $2 billion. Provisions over suspect payments and antitrust allegations may not be enough to cover "adverse outcomes," it added.

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