GE Delays Results For a Week -- WSJ

By Thomas Gryta 

This article is being republished as part of our daily reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S. print edition of The Wall Street Journal (October 13, 2018).

General Electric Co. delayed the release of it quarterly results by a week, saying its recently appointed chief executive needs more time to complete his review of the embattled conglomerate.

GE said Friday it would report third-quarter results Oct. 30, rather than Oct. 25.

The change gives Chairman and Chief Executive Larry Culp more time "to complete initial business reviews and site visits," the company said in a notice to investors.

Mr. Culp is in his second week on the job after the industrial conglomerate abruptly fired John Flannery. In announcing the CEO appointment Oct. 1, the company disclosed more troubles in its hobbled power business and again cut its cash-flow projections.

General Electric stock has climbed almost 13% since Mr. Culp took the helm but is still down 45% in the past 12 months.

In the Oct. 30 report, Mr. Culp "will share his initial observations, with more detail expected in early 2019," the company said Friday. In years past, GE presented its annual financial outlook to analysts and investors in December, although last year Mr. Flannery held a large presentation on his strategy in November.

Several analysts also expect new financial projections to come with the third-quarter report, along with some strategic shifts or possibly even another dividend reduction. GE cut its dividend by half last year after the severity of its financial troubles was made clear.

Analysts were surprised by Friday's delay, saying there possibly could be an unknown issue or a pending asset sale. The company is telling investors that the delay is related to Mr. Culp's travel schedule as he is reviewing GE businesses.

Mr. Culp, a former chief of Danaher Corp. and the first outsider to run GE, joined the conglomerate's board of directors in April and was named lead director two months later.

UBS analyst Steven Winoker said the delay didn't raise alarms, viewing it as the new CEO giving himself enough time before addressing investors. Mr. Winoker said a GE turnaround is likely to take years but sees the third-quarter report as the next notable event for GE shareholders.

Melius Research analyst Scott Davis said the delay adds to the noise around the company and allows for investor speculation about the reasoning. He said Mr. Culp is used to giving details to investors when reporting results and future projections, but that numbers will only be part of the story for investors.

"It will be 95% what Larry says and 5% what they actually report," he said.

Write to Thomas Gryta at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 13, 2018 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)

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