14
Q4 2022
FINANCIAL
INFORMATION
─
Note 2
Recent accounting pronouncements
Applicable for current periods
Business Combinations — Accounting for contract
assets and contract liabilities from contracts with customers
In January 2022, the Company early adopted a new accounting
standard update, which provides guidance on the accounting for
revenue contracts acquired in a
business combination. The update requires contract assets
and liabilities acquired in a business combination to be recognized
and measured at the date of
acquisition in accordance with the principles for recognizing revenues
from contracts with customers.
The Company has applied this accounting standard update
prospectively starting with acquisitions closing after January
1, 2022.
Disclosures about government assistance
In January 2022, the Company adopted a new accounting standard
update,
which requires entities to disclose certain types of government
assistance. Under the
update, the Company is required to annually disclose (i) the
type of the assistance received, including any significant
terms and conditions, (ii) its related
accounting policy, and (iii) the effect
such transactions have on its financial statements. The Company
has applied this accounting standard update
prospectively.
This update does not have a significant impact on the Company’s
consolidated financial statements.
Applicable for future periods
Facilitation of the effects of reference rate reform on financial
reporting
In March 2020, an accounting standard update was issued which provides
temporary optional expedients and exceptions to the current
guidance on contract
modifications and hedge accounting to ease the financial reporting burdens
related to the expected market transition from the London
Interbank Offered Rate
(LIBOR) and other interbank offered rates to alternative reference
rates. This update, along with clarifications outlined
in subsequent updates issued during
January 2021 and December 2022, can be adopted and applied
no later than December 31, 2024, with early
adoption permitted. The Company expects to adopt
this update during the second half of 2023 and does
not expect this update to have a significant impact on its consolidated
financial statements.
Disclosure about supplier finance program obligations
In September 2022, an accounting standard update was issued which
requires entities to disclose information related to supplier
finance programs. Under the
update, the Company is required to annually disclose (i) the key
terms of the program, (ii) the amount of the supplier
finance obligations outstanding and where
those obligations are presented in the balance sheet at the reporting
date, and (iii) a rollforward of the supplier finance obligation
program within the reporting
period. This update is effective for the Company
retrospectively for all in-scope transactions for annual periods
beginning January 1, 2023, with the exception
of
the rollforward disclosures,
which are effective prospectively for annual periods
beginning January 1, 2024, with early adoption permitted. The Company
does not
expect this update to have a significant impact on its consolidated financial
statements.
The total outstanding supplier finance obligation included
in “Accounts
payable, trade” in the Consolidated Balance Sheet at December 31,
2022, amounted to $477 million.
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Note 3
Discontinued operations and assets held for sale
Divestment of the Power Grids business
On July 1, 2020, the Company completed the sale of 80.1 percent
of its Power Grids business to Hitachi Ltd (Hitachi).
The transaction was executed through the
sale of 80.1 percent of the shares of Hitachi Energy Ltd, formerly
Hitachi ABB Power Grids Ltd (“Hitachi Energy”).
Cash consideration received at the closing date
was $9,241 million net of cash disposed.
Further, for accounting purposes,
the 19.9 percent ownership interest retained by the Company
was deemed to have
been both divested and reacquired at its fair value on July
1, 2020.
The Company also obtained a put option, exercisable
with three-months’ notice commencing in
April 2023. The combined fair value of the retained investment
and the related put option amounted to $1,779 million
and was recorded as both an equity-method
investment and as part of the proceeds for the sale of the
entire Power Grids business (see Note 4).
In connection with the divestment, the Company recorded
liabilities in discontinued operations for estimated future costs and other cash
payments of $487 million
for various contractual items relating to the sale of the business
,
including required future cost reimbursements payable
to Hitachi Energy, costs
to be incurred by
the Company for the direct benefit of Hitachi Energy and
an amount due to Hitachi Ltd in connection with the expected purchase
price finalization of the closing
debt and working capital balances. In October 2021, the Company
and Hitachi concluded an agreement to settle the various amounts
owing by the Company.
The
net difference between the agreed amounts and the amounts
initially estimated by the Company was recorded
in 2021 in discontinued operations as an
adjustment to “Change to net gain recognized on sale
of the Power Grids business” in the table below.
During the year and three months ended December
31,
2022, total cash payments of $102 million (excluding payments
related to the guarantees, see Note 10), and $11
million, respectively, were made
in connection
with these liabilities. During the year and three months ended
December 31, 2021, total cash payments (including the amounts
paid under the settlement
agreement) of $364 million and $281 million, respectively,
were made in connection with these liabilities.
At December 31, 2022, the remaining amount recorded
was $53 million.
Upon closing of the sale, the Company entered into various
transition services agreements (TSAs). Pursuant to these
TSAs, the Company and Hitachi Energy
provide to each other, on an interim, transitional
basis, various services. The services
provided by the Company primarily include finance, information technology,
human resources and certain other administrative services.
Under the current terms, the TSAs will continue for up
to 3 years, and can only be extended on an
exceptional basis for business-critical services for an additional period which
is reasonably necessary to avoid a material adverse
impact on the business. In the
year and three months ended December 31, 2022, the Company
has recognized within its continuing operations, general
and administrative expenses incurred to
perform the TSAs, offset by $162 million and $47
million, respectively, in TSA-related
income for such services that is reported in Other income
(expense), net.
In
the year and three months ended December 31, 2021,
Other income (expense) included $173 million
and $46 million, respectively, of
TSA-related income for such
services.
Discontinued operations
As a result of the sale of the Power Grids business, substantially
all Power Grids-related assets and liabilities have
been sold. As this divestment represented
a
strategic shift that would have a major effect on the Company’s
operations and financial results, the
results of operations for this business have been
presented as
discontinued operations and the assets and liabilities are presented
as held for sale and in discontinued operations
for all periods presented. Certain of the
business contracts in the Power Grids business continue to
be executed by subsidiaries of the Company for the benefit/risk
of Hitachi Energy. Assets
and liabilities
relating
to, as well as the net financial results of, these contracts
will continue to be included in discontinued operations until they
have been completed or
otherwise transferred to Hitachi Energy.