GE Renewable Energy turns first quarterly profit since 2018

GE Renewable Energy made a $5 million profit in the third quarter of the year – the unit’s first quarterly profit since Q4 2018.

Its profit follows a $98 million loss in the same period one year ago, and a $498 million loss in the first half of the year, as the manufacturer struggled with the coronavirus pandemic.

The Q3 profit was driven by improved pricing and cost deflation, and “cost reduction measures” in onshore wind. This increase was partially offset by the product mix of onshore wind deliveries, GE explained.

GE cut about 900 jobs from its Renewable Energy unit in Q3 and tightened its capital expenditure and working capital spending, according to its investor presentation.

The third-quarter profit in its Renewable Energy division also comes as its reported orders fell 21% to $4 billion in Q3 due to lower repowering onshore wind orders and a large offshore order from EDF one year earlier. By capacity, GE Renewable Energy’s orders fell 16% to 3.2GW in the third quarter of the year.

However, its reported revenues inched up 2% to $4.5 billion mainly driven by onshore wind, as GE delivered 1,170 new turbines and 300 turbines for repowering projects between 1 July and 30 September