GE Renewable Energy made a loss in Q2 2019 but the company’s chief executive said the business has ‘significant long-term potential,’ not least from the Haliade-X offshore wind turbine it is developing
The company made a loss of US$184M in the quarter despite revenues increasing.
Chief executive Jérôme Pécresse said that potential was also evidenced by strong order growth in the quarter and continued growth of GE Renewable Energy’s backlog.
“In the quarter, we saw improved pricing in onshore wind, announced several deals outside the US, reinforcing our commitment to growing internationally, and made noteworthy progress on both the Haliade-X (offshore wind turbine) and Cypress (onshore wind) platform, our signature technology initiatives,” Mr Pécresse said.
“Looking forward, we see a good level of activity for 2021 projects in the US despite the lower value of production tax incentives,” he said.
Reporting results for GE as a whole, chairman and chief executive Larry Culp Jr said, “We made steady progress on our strategic priorities in the second quarter.
“Our top-line growth was solid, and power made meaningful improvements on fixed cost reduction and project execution. Margins contracted due to declines in power, renewable energy and, to a lesser extent aviation, with the first half of 2019 in line with our full-year outlook.
“We also moved our grid solutions equipment and services business to renewable energy to offer end-to-end clean energy solutions and moved our grid solutions software business to digital, which resulted in a non-cash goodwill impairment charge.”
During the second quarter, GE continued to take action to improve its financial position and strengthen its businesses.
GE Renewable Energy secured more than 4 GW in US onshore wind orders in the first half of the year, reinforcing continued strong demand for GE’s 2-MW platform. It also achieved numerous milestones associated with commercialising the Haliade-X 12 MW offshore wind turbine by 2021.
The quarter also saw Vattenfall announce plans to partner with GE to use the turbine in Europe. The nacelle for the first Haliade-X was unveiled in France in July 2019 and the 107-m blade for the prototype unit is to be installed in Netherlands later in 2019.
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