GE posts 12 slide in Q1 revenues

However, the group’s quarterly industrial profit rose nine per cent.


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By :  ,  Financial Analyst

General Electric today (April 17th) posted a 12 per cent slide in revenues to $29.4 billion (£19.6 billion) for the first quarter of the  year. It said the drop is mainly due to the global sharp slowdown in the oil and gas industry, with sales in the sector falling eight per cent between January and March to $4 billion.

However, its quarterly industrial profit rose nine per cent helped by improved profit margins. According to Reuters, the results are due to the company shifting to manufacturing of jet engines, turbines and other big-ticket products and splits from finance. 

The company hopes its industrial business will generate 90 per cent of its operating earnings by 2018.

While revenue fell one per cent in its industrials segments last quarter, sales rose three per cent on on an organic basis.

A substantial cut in GE's business model

GE's power and water business and its transportation division reported gains of four per cent and seven per cent respectively. Excluding special items, GE posted earnings of 31 cents per share, beating the average analyst estimate by one cent, according to Thomson Reuters.

Chief executive Jeff Immelt said in a statement that GE "performed well in the first quarter, in an environment that remains volatile but with continued growth opportunities in infrastructure."

The earning reports comes a week after shares in the company soared 11 per cent following Jeff Immelt's announcement that GE plans to sell most of its financial arm.

The company has significantly cut back its business model in recent years, letting go of NBCUniversal as well as a finance arm which became Synchrony Financial in an IPO in July 2014.

In September, GE also struck a $3.3 billion deal to sell its appliance business to Sweden’s Eletrolux.  

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