GE shares fall as profit slumps

WASHINGTON: General Electric Co's shares dropped sharply on Friday after it posted a 59-percent decline in second-quarter profit and put off an expected cut to 2018 earnings targets until November, when new CEO John Flannery will be four months into his job.

The maker of power plants, jet engines, medical scanners and other industrial equipment said profit and sales declines largely reflected sale of its appliances business.

It beat analyst expectations on adjusted profit, but cash flow was weak and GE said full-year profit and cash flow will be at the low end of its forecasts.

GE also said it would update its 2018 earnings target of $2 a share in November, later than analysts had expected. Analyst consensus 2018 estimate is $1.73, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, already suggesting a significant cut.

The length and scope of the review raised concern, since GE has just come through major shifts in its portfolio.