Sanjeev Sharma, Managing Director
ABB India is betting on India's electrification push, data centre build-out and grid modernisation to sustain its growth momentum, even as it sees newer opportunities emerging in marine, ports and semiconductors over the next few years.The company, which reported an 8 per cent year-on-year increase in profit after tax to ₹370 crore for the June quarter (Q2CY26), said its record order backlog of around ₹12,000 crore provides revenue visibility until mid-2028."Electrification, energy efficiency and automation continue to be the core themes for ABB. India remains a sweet-spot market for us because these areas are witnessing strong structural growth," Managing Director Sanjeev Sharma said during a post-results interaction with businessline.According to Sharma, demand continues to be led by data centres, commercial buildings, grid modernisation, renewables, battery energy storage systems (BESS), railways and metro projects, which currently represent the company's strongest growth segments. He added that while ABB has been serving the data centre market for nearly eight years, marine and ports are now emerging as the next sunrise sectors as India expands port infrastructure and domestic shipbuilding.The company is also positioning itself to benefit from India's semiconductor manufacturing ambitions. Sharma said ABB's existing portfolio—including medium- and low-voltage electrification products, drives, automation systems and clean-room solutions—already caters to the requirements of semiconductor fabrication facilities, with manufacturing capacities built ahead of demand.Long-term opportunityOn the demand environment, Sharma said India continues to remain underpenetrated in energy-efficient industrial systems, creating a significant long-term opportunity. Besides renewable power generation, the country will require investments in energy storage integration, demand-side management and industrial process controls as electricity consumption rises. Chief Financial Officer TK Sridhar said nearly 45 per cent of the company's order backlog is expected to be executed over the next two quarters, while the balance will be delivered over the following six to eight quarters, giving ABB visibility of revenues until the middle of 2028. The backlog is largely driven by orders from data centres, railways, metals and mining, with no signs of execution delays at present.Looking ahead, Sharma said ABB does not expect a single sector to account for the next leg of growth. Instead, India's broader investment cycle will drive expansion. The company, which has been growing at 16-17 per cent CAGR against India's GDP growth of around 6-7 per cent, expects emerging sectors such as data centres, electronics and renewables to grow rapidly, while traditional industries including metals, mining, cement, oil and gas, and pulp and paper will continue to contribute significantly because of their larger installed base.The company also highlighted that roughly 40 per cent of its orders are linked to public expenditure, while 60 per cent are exposed to private sector capital expenditure. Within its India business, around 45-50 per cent comes from core industries, 15-20 per cent from emerging sectors such as data centres, electronics and renewables, and the remainder from infrastructure and mobility, providing a diversified growth portfolio. Sharma added that ABB continues to evaluate inorganic opportunities alongside capacity expansion to support future growth.Published on August 3, 2026
