GE beats 2Q profit forecasts despite decline

General Electric Co. (GE) on Friday reported dip in second-quarter profit and revenue on lackluster performance from its energy connections unit.

Still, the industrial conglomerate beat Wall Street expectations as longtime CEO Jeff Immelt prepares to hand over the reins to John Flannery in August.

The Boston-based company reported a 53 percent drop in profit to $1.37 billion, or 13 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs and to account for discontinued operations, were 28 cents per share. Revenue fell 12 percent to $29.56 billion.

The average estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 25 cents per share, while five analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $29.12 billion in revenue.

The company's diverse units, including its power, renewable energy and health care operations, all registered revenue gains during the quarter. But, its energy connections and lighting unit reported a 27 percent dip to $3.2 billion in revenue, weighing down the overall results.

GE shares have dropped 16 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has risen 10 percent. The stock has fallen 19 percent in the last 12 months.

_____

Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on GE at https://www.zacks.com/ap/GE

_____

Keywords: General Electric, Earnings Report, Priority Earnings