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GE Q2 net down 14%, cuts 2003 outlook
Boston, July 12: General Electric on Friday reported a 14 per cent slide in second-quarter earnings due to weaker results from gas turbine and plastics businesses and said its most optimistic forecasts for the year were now unattainable.
Boston, July 12: General Electric on Friday reported a 14 per cent slide in second-quarter earnings due to weaker results from gas turbine and plastics businesses and said its most optimistic forecasts for the year were now unattainable.
The Fairfield, Connecticut, company, whose other businesses range from television broadcasting to jet-engine manufacturing, conceded it wouldn't produce its once routine double-digit annual earnings growth for the second consecutive year under Chairman Jeff Immelt's leadership. In a conference call with analysts, Immelt said GE was hurt by economic sluggishness linked to SARS virus, the war in Iraq and the woes at GE Plastics, which was facing higher costs for raw materials like oil and benzene.
Still, he said 2003 earnings would rise between 3 per cent and 7 per cent -- less than the 3 per cent to 13 per cent once thought possible.
Investors reacted little, with GE shares edging 7 cents lower to end at $28.12 on the New York Stock Exchange.
GE said it expects to earn $1.55 to $1.61 a share in 2003, up from $1.51 in 2002. Its previous forecast was $1.55 to $1.70.
Bureau Report
The Fairfield, Connecticut, company, whose other businesses range from television broadcasting to jet-engine manufacturing, conceded it wouldn't produce its once routine double-digit annual earnings growth for the second consecutive year under Chairman Jeff Immelt's leadership. In a conference call with analysts, Immelt said GE was hurt by economic sluggishness linked to SARS virus, the war in Iraq and the woes at GE Plastics, which was facing higher costs for raw materials like oil and benzene.
Still, he said 2003 earnings would rise between 3 per cent and 7 per cent -- less than the 3 per cent to 13 per cent once thought possible.
Investors reacted little, with GE shares edging 7 cents lower to end at $28.12 on the New York Stock Exchange.
GE said it expects to earn $1.55 to $1.61 a share in 2003, up from $1.51 in 2002. Its previous forecast was $1.55 to $1.70.
Bureau Report