General Electric (GE) – Get Report shares traded lower Monday after the industrial group said it would exit the new build coal power market.
GE said it would continue to focus on and invest in its core renewable energy and power generation businesses, but added that getting out of the new build coal market would likely include site closings, job cuts and other “appropriate considerations for publicly held subsidiaries.”
“With the continued transformation of GE, we are focused on power generation businesses that have attractive economics and a growth trajectory,” said Ge’s senior vice president and CEO of GE Power Russell Stokes. “As we pursue this exit from the new build coal power market, we will continue to support our customers, helping them to keep their existing plants running in a cost-effective and efficient way with best-in-class technology and service expertise.”
GE shares were marked 4.8% lower in early trading immediately following the power business statement to change hands at $6.59 each.
Last week, GE shares spiked 14% over a two-day period thanks in part to a Bullish outlook on industrial group cash flow from CEO Larry Culp.
Culp told Morgan Stanley’s Laguna Conference that the industrial group would be cash flow positive before the end of the year, a noted improvement from his July update that it would likely turn positive by 2021.
“We are really not waiting for the markets to come back and put the wind we had in our sails,” Culp said. “We know this is going to be a self-help story for a little bit longer.”