GE GE Aerospace

By Thomas Gryta 

General Electric Co. swung to a first-quarter profit as the conglomerate reported stronger cash production than expected while leaving its full-year expectations unchanged.

GE reported adjusted cash flow from industrial operations of negative $1.2 billion; the company warned earlier this year that cash flow would drop as much as negative $2 billion this year from its core industrial operations.

It has called 2019 a "reset year" but has warned the first quarter would be the low point of the results. New CEO Larry Culp is restructuring the company, prioritizing the struggling Power division as well as reducing the conglomerate's massive debt load.

In the first quarter, GE reported a profit of $3.55 billion, compared with a year-ago loss of $1.18 billion. Revenue fell 2% to $27.29 billion, as a sharp decline in the Power division, which makes turbines for power plants, offset gains in Aviation and other units.

"Our quarterly results were better than our expectations, largely driven by timing of certain items, which should balance out over the course of the year," Mr. Culp said in a statement. "This is one quarter in what will be a multiyear transformation."

In the quarter, GE completed the sale of its century-old locomotive business, struck a more than $20 billion deal to sell its biotechnology business and paid $1.5 billion to settle a long-running Justice Department probe into a legacy mortgage-lending business.

Investors and analysts see cash production as a strong measure of a company's performance and value. For GE, which has all but eliminated its dividend, the goal is returning to sustainable cash flow. But like many things at GE in recent years, the company's complexity makes it difficult to assess performance around a single financial metric.

Analysts had varying expectations for the company's performance in the quarter. RBC Capital analyst Deane Dray estimated negative cash flow of $4 billion and Gordon Haskett analyst John Inch projected cash burn of $2.5 billion. JPMorgan analyst Stephen Tusa estimated a negative $3 billion.

Adjusted quarterly earnings per share were 14 cents, ahead of an analyst projection of 9 cents a share, according to Refinitiv, while revenue was slightly above the consensus view of $27.05 billion.

GE shares rose about 6% to $10.36 in early premarket trading Tuesday. The stock has surged about 34% this year but is down 30% in the last 12 months. Two years ago, GE shares traded at close to $30.

Write to Thomas Gryta at thomas.gryta@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 30, 2019 07:23 ET (11:23 GMT)

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