Table:
|  |  | Fiscal year |  | % Change |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| (in millions of €) | 2019 | 2018 | Actual | Comp. |
| Orders | 16,244 | 15,198 | 7% | 4% |
| Revenue | 15,225 | 14,445 | 5% | 3% |
| therein: product business | 5,530 | 5,302 | 4% | 2% |
| Adjusted EBITA | 1,500 | 1,574 | (5)% |  |
| Adjusted EBITA margin | 9.9 % | 10.9 % |  |  |
Paragraphs:
Orders and revenue for Smart Infrastructure rose in all three businesses – solutions and services, systems and software, and the products business – and in all three reporting regions. Order growth was strongest in the solutions and services business on a sharply higher volume from large orders in the Americas and Europe, C. I. S., Africa, Middle East. Revenue rose most strongly in the systems and software and the solutions and services businesses, particularly in the Americas. Revenue growth in the product business was due to low voltage products, while revenue in the other products businesses came in close to prior-year levels due partly to less favorable conditions in short-cycle markets.
Adjusted EBITA declined due mainly to the systems and software business including negative effects related to grid control projects early in the year. Adjusted EBITA also included higher expenses year-over-year related to expansion of smart building offerings and for grid edge activities. Severance charges were € 48 million in fiscal 2019 compared to € 34 million a year earlier. Smart Infrastructure’s order backlog was € 10 billion at the end of the fiscal year, of which € 7 billion are expected to be converted into revenue in fiscal 2020.
Smart Infrastructure achieved its results in overall moderately growing markets in fiscal 2019. The grid markets benefited from the need for intelligent and flexible energy networks and for automation, particularly in Asia, Australia and the Americas. Heavy industries and the infrastructure industry also developed favorably during fiscal 2019, driven by investments in oil and gas markets, in data centers and in transportation infrastructure, such as for e-mobility. Discrete industries, which started strong
in fiscal 2019, experienced a downturn in the second half of the fiscal year.
Construction markets continued their stable growth during the fiscal year, particularly in the U. S. and China and in the non-residential construction market overall. Growth in the important building electrification and automation market was driven by demand for building performance and sustainability offerings, including strong demand for energy efficiency and digital services. In fiscal 2020, market growth overall is expected to
be lower than in fiscal 2019, due to an expected continuation of the downturn in the short-cycle markets, economic uncertainty in a number of countries due to trade conflicts, and other factors.
Beginning with fiscal 2020, the distribution transformer business will be transferred to the Operating Company Gas and Power. If this organizational structure had already existed in fiscal 2019, Smart Infrastructure would have posted orders of € 15.590 billion, revenue of € 14.597 billion, Adjusted EBITA of € 1.465 billion and an Adjusted EBITA margin of 10.0 %.
Question:
What was the reason for the decline in the Adjusted EBITDA?
Answer: Adjusted EBITA declined due mainly to the systems and software business including negative effects related to grid control projects early in the year.