(Reuters) – General Electric Co’s <GE.N> industrial businesses took a $1 billion hit to cash flow in the first quarter due to the COVID-19 pandemic as overall revenue fell almost 8%, and the company warned the damage would worsen in the next three months.
The Boston-based conglomerate had earlier this month pulled its 2020 forecast, citing uncertainties created by the coronavirus outbreak, but backed its first-quarter industrial free cash flow expectation of near negative $2 billion.
Free cash flow from industrial operations was negative $2.2 billion in the first quarter, missing analysts’ estimates of negative $2.02 billion, according to Refinitiv data.
GE reported adjusted earnings of 5 cents per share, below the average estimate of 8 cents, according to Refinitiv.
Fallout from the pandemic caused revenue to fall 13% in both the aviation and the power divisions. Profit in aviation fell 39% to $1 billion, while the power unit lost $129 million, GE said.
GE said about 20% of planned maintenance work on power plants had been deferred until later in the year, a factor that weighed on revenue and profit.
(Reporting by Rachit Vats and Alwyn Scott; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
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