Revenue in the renewables business segment during Q1 was up 26% year on year, driven by turbine deliveries and repowering. But it still suffered a loss of $302 million, 61% greater than the same period in 2019.
For the whole of 2019, GE's renewable energy unit recorded a loss of $666 million, down from a $292 million profit in 2018.
Orders in the business unit were down 13% to $3 billion in the first quarter of 2020, although international orders were up 11%, indicating GE's reliance on the US market is not as important as it once was. The OEM recorded orders from developers in Turkey, Sweden, India, and Vietnam in the period.
It also produced the first turbine from its Cypress platform at a factory in China, ahead of being shipped to a site in Australia.
Despite the increase in onshore wind volume, the segment loss for the quarter was "mainly driven by the non-recurrence of a non-cash gain in the first quarter of 2019, supply chain disruption due to Covid-19, and fulfillment delays", the firm said.
The entire GE group has suffered as a result of the health crisis, particularly in its aviation division which saw profits fall by 39%. This was partially offset by the healthcare division, where profits rose 15% in the quarter.
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