General Electric Q1 Adj. Profit Declines; Industrial Organic Revenues Down 5%

(RTTNews) - General Electric Company (GE) reported first quarter adjusted GE Industrial earnings per share of $0.06 compared to $0.13, prior year. Adjusted earnings per share was $0.05, a decline of 62% from prior year. On average, 14 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report profit per share of $0.08, for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

For the first quarter, GAAP earnings per share from continuing operations attributable to GE common shareholders was $0.72 compared to $0.10, a year ago. The company noted that its continuing EPS included a $11.1 billion after-tax gain following the sale of BioPharma and a $4.6 billion after-tax unrealized loss on marking GE's investment in Baker Hughes to market.

First quarter GE Industrial organic revenues were $18.94 billion, down 5% from last year. Total revenues were $20.52 billion compared to $22.20 billion. Analysts expected revenue of $20.21 billion for the quarter. Total orders were $19.5 billion, down 5%. Organic orders declined 3%, for the quarter.

GE Chairman and CEO Lawrence Culp, Jr. said, "The impact from COVID-19 materially challenged our first-quarter results, especially in Aviation, where we saw a dramatic decline in commercial aerospace as the virus spread globally in March. We are targeting more than $2 billion in operational cost out and $3 billion of cash preservation to mitigate the financial impact."