The December quarter earnings of capital goods firms, while unexciting in general, have one silver lining: the return of non-greenfield investments. Commentaries and order win trends from ABB India Ltd, Siemens Ltd and Thermax Ltd show that brownfield investments relating to de-bottlenecking, augmentation of existing capacities and efficiency improvement spends are emerging as notable order inflow drivers. ABB India, for instance, reported a 43.7% rise in order inflows last quarter, adjusted for an unusual project win in the year-ago period. In comparison, order inflows at Siemens increased just 2% but the company ended the quarter with a record order book. Further, the management sees positive momentum in order inflows barring the power sector.

Source: Mint February 12, 2018 19:30 UTC