GE remains in the red

GE Renewable Energy recorded a loss of $666 million for the financial year, having posted negative results in all four quarters of 2019.

by David Weston 29 January 2020

GE posted operating losses across all four quarters of 2019

For the year, GE's renewable energy unit recorded a loss of $666 million, down from a $292 million profit across 2018.

In Q4, the unit posted a loss of $197 million, having recorded similar shortfalls of $162 million, $184 million and $98 million across the first three quarters of the year, respectively.

"Segment profit of negative $197 million was driven by execution issues, particularly in grids; price headwinds; tariffs; and increased R&D investment," the US conglomerate explained in its report.

However, revenue and the order total was up in the Renewable Energy unit. Revenue for the year was $15.3 billion, up 7%.

Meanwhile orders grew 10% to $16.9 billion for 2019, despite a slight dip in Q4 which was 11% lower than the same period in 2018.

The manufacturer added it had received 1.2GW of new onshore wind orders from China in 2019 — a typically difficult market for western OEMs to do business in.