General Electric (GE)’s CEO John Flannery indicated on Tuesday that he was planning to find ways to increase the value of the company’s power, aviation, and healthcare sectors, after reporting $10bn in losses in its latest quarter.
Reuters reported that Flannery responded to an analyst question on the subject by noting the possibility of “separately traded assets really in any one of our units, if that’s what made sense.”
“He got really explicit,” said Deane Dray, analyst at RBC Capital Markets, according to Reuters. “He named all the units and said we’ll look at structures that allow for a public company exit. If you’re looking for the break-up scenario, it’s still simmering on a front burner.”
In November, Flannery stated that GE would shave down operations to power, healthcare, and aviation, with plans to exit more than $20bn in assets in the coming years to boost its performance. GE Power has pulled down GE’s profits, with an 88% drop in the sector’s profit in its last quarter, following a 51% drop in its third quarter of 2017.
However, there is no clarity in the conglomerate’s plans to spin off its businesses to smaller units just yet. There are unconfirmed reports of GE retaining its healthcare division as core business but the company has not confirmed this.
GE’s healthcare division grew 12% on strength in the Middle East and China, and overall profit in GE Healthcare grew 13%.
Shares in General Electric have fallen approximately 45% in the past year, as Flannery, who became CEO in August 2017, tries to restructure the 126-year-old company.
