GE shakes up business portfolio

GE plans to sell off its entire consumer and industrial unit

As expected by industry analysts, General Electric (NYSE: GE) today reported less than stellar second quarter earnings.

Profit was down 6 percent from the same quarter in 2007, although overall revenue increased from $42.38 billion in 2007 to $46.89 billion. The news followed GE's July 10 announcement that it plans to spin off its entire consumer and industrial business instead of only its appliance division, which the company has been trying to sell since May 2008.

The Fairfield, Conn.-based conglomerate also announced the sale of its Japanese consumer finance unit to Japan’s Shinsei Bank, a deal that is set to close next quarter.

In a conference call this morning, GE CEO Jeff Immelt said the Japanese sale will free up resources to be deployed elsewhere in the company, while selling off the consumer and industrial unit, including GE's lighting and appliance businesses, will be a "primary solution" to the company's current financial woes. Immelt added that he has not ruled out the possibility of selling the appliances unit separately.

"Some people might still make some great offers for (GE) Appliances," Immelt said, adding that the company still has "a multitude of options" for the Consumer and Industrial unit.

On July 10, however, Immelt described the sale of the entire unit as "the fastest, most efficient step we could take in completing the transformation of our industrial portfolio."

In addition to serving as the company's most visible units, the lighting and appliances divisions of GE are what most consumers associate with GE's "Ecomagination" initiative. With both units on the sales block, GE is focusing its Ecomagination marketing power on its infrastructure unit, which turned the largest profit of  the quarter, and its energy finance unit, which is part of a larger commercial finance unit that outperformed financial expectations for the quarter, according to today's conference call.

The company's water and energy businesses are included in the infrastructure unit. Massive GE water treatment facilities in developing countries, particularly China, and a recent increase in wind turbine sales thanks to large orders from Texas-based Mesa Power and Spanish utility Iberdrola contributed greatly to the unit's financial success. 

Meanwhile, GE's energy finance group has made several recent large investments in the electric car market, including a $20 million investment in lithium-ion battery start-up A123 Systems and $4 million in Norwegian electric car company Think. GE also received part of a $30 million Department of Energy grant to conduct pilot plug-in hybrid vehicle tests.

The spin-off of GE's consumer and industrial business is unlikely to occur before mid-to-late 2009, according to the company. GE's stock began trading up at $27.98 a share following the call.