ABB India Ltd – 28% ROE, ₹10,000 Cr Order Book, and a P/E That Needs Robotics to Count

1. At a Glance

ABB India is the desi arm of Swiss giant ABB, making everything from motors, drives, EV chargers, and automation to modular switches that look fancier than your Alexa. The company posted FY24 revenue of ₹12,612 Cr with PAT ₹1,799 Cr, clocking ROCE 39% and ROE 29%, but the stock trades at a brain-melting P/E of 61. Basically, investors are paying champagne prices for electrical switchboards.

2. Introduction

ABB India is like that overachieving cousin in your family: global parent support, strong grades (financials), no debt, and a foreign accent (Swiss).

• Subsidiary Perks: Access to ABB’s 100-country R&D empire, tech transfers, and global branding.
• Products Everywhere: EV infra, process automation, robotics, factory automation, digital twins—you name it.
• Order Book: ₹9,958 Cr, with fresh Q1 orders worth ₹3,751 Cr.
• Dividends: Payout of 37% shows they share a little bit of Swiss chocolate with shareholders.

But despite this rosy picture, ABB has quirks: paying crores in royalties to its parent, frequent customs/tax fines (₹5.7 Cr latest), and an order book smaller than some Indian infra peers.

3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?

ABB India sells “electricity with attitude.” Its four divisions:

1. Electrification (43%) – Smart LV/MV systems, EV infra, switchgear, solar inverters.
2. Motion (34%) – Motors and drives powering half the world’s factories.
3. Process Automation (18%) – Control systems for energy, chemicals, marine.
4. Robotics & Discrete Automation (5%) – Robots that probably do garba faster than humans.

Revenue split is 74% products, 14% projects, 12% services. 90% sales domestic, 10% export. Basically, ABB is like Zomato: mostly Indian food, with some international delivery.

4. Financials Overview

Commentary:
Topline growing steadily, but margins took a knock from forex/import costs. QoQ looks like ABB tripped over its own cables.

5. Valuation – Fair Value Range Only

• P/E Method: EPS ₹85 × sector average P/E 45 → ₹3,800.
• EV/EBITDA: EV ₹1,04,212 Cr / EBITDA ₹2,194 Cr → 47x vs peers 25–30x → fair range ₹3,500–₹4,500.
• P/B