Swiss engineering company ABB is going to take a hit from the coronavirus outbreak in China, where it generated around 15% of its sales last year, Chief Executive Peter Voser said on Wednesday.
"We think there is likely to be an impact. We have a significant footprint in China," he told reporters after the group posted a surprise increase in fourth-quarter profit.
"While the impact of the virus outbreak on our business is not quantifiable at this moment, we are supporting ... our employees and have put in place plans to ramp up manufacturing capacity as soon as possible," he added.
ABB's factories in China - where it has 20,000 workers - have been shut down in line with government guidance, but ABB has not evacuated staff, Voser said. It has restricted travel to China and Hong Kong to essential business, and employees are subject to a 14-day quarantine before returning to work.
ABB is shipping about 200,000 protective masks to Chinese staff and their families, Voser said.