Charges linked to costly delays to offshore wind and solar power projects pushed ABB’s second-quarter earnings below forecasts, sending its shares down 2 per cent yesterday.

Like many of its rivals, the Swiss company is suffering from a lack of large orders for its power equipment and is working its way through a backlog of less profitable contracts.

Its business making subsea cables and power systems to connect renewable energy to the grid is losing money. Offshore wind farm projects, which offer some of the biggest returns, have been delayed by storms.

ABB said its net profit fell 17 per cent in the quarter to $636 million, missing the average analyst forecast of $706 million in a Reuters poll.

ZKB analyst Richard Frei, who has a “market weight” rating on the stock, said the results were disappointing.

ABB said in April it would redouble efforts to turn the troubled Power Systems division around, which racked up its third consecutive loss in the second quarter, of $24 million.

The Zurich-based firm said investors should expect a weak performance in the business to weigh on results in coming quarters.

“This is not a short-term sprint. This is really a marathon run that will go a while,” chief executive Ulrich Spiesshofer told journalists.

But he suggested the efforts to fix the division should start to bear fruit in 2014.

“We still aim to get this business to profitability and we still aim to get this to break-even within this year,” he said.

Shares in ABB, which have dropped 13 per cent so far this year, underperforming an index of European industrial companies, were down 1.7 per cent.

The Zurich-based company stuck to cautious guidance for its markets, saying uncertainty in some emerging economies may offset more encouraging signs in the United States and parts of Europe.

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