GE CEO optimistic about business outlook
MANILA, Philippines - General Electric Co. (GE) chief executive Jeff Immelt, speaking at an annual Electrical Products Group conference in Florida, said that “business is good” and that the company is optimistic about the conglomerate’s overall business prospects. He added that operating margins in GE’s big industrial businesses are expected to increase in the second half of the year and into 2012. GE’s first-quarter industrial profit margin should climb to 16 or 17 percent by the end of the year, according to the GE executive.
“The leading indicators in energy are actually quite positive,” Immelt said in a webcast.
Overall, he forecast a five- to 10-percent increase in organic industrial orders this year. “We’re pretty optimistic about what we’re seeing in our business today and how it is going forward.”
There will be no big changes in GE’s portfolio in the short term. GE completed the sale of its majority stake in NBC Universal earlier this year and also announced $11 billion in acquisitions in its energy business since late 2010.
“This is the best, most competitive portfolio that the company has had, at least in 10 years,” he said and added that “integrating the recent acquisitions is much more important to me right now than doing new deals.”
GE is expected to generate about $30 billion in cash between 2011 and 2014 above what it already has committed for various purposes. The company will use the excess cash to raise dividends to levels “consistent with the history of the company,” he said.
