GE posts $13.6 billion loss on finance unit sale

NEW YORK (AP) — The industrial heart of General Electric, the company's new focus, posted lower revenue and earnings in the first quarter amid an enormous overall loss resulting from its recently-announced sale of most of the assets in its finance subsidiary.

Net income from the part of GE that the company will retain after the sale fell 5 percent to $3.1 billion, the company said today. Adjusted earnings per share fell 6 percent to 31 cents, a penny better than analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research expected, on average.

Revenue fell 12 percent to $29.4 billion, below the $34.4 billion analysts expected.

GE CEO Jeff Immelt said in a statement that the global economic environment remained "volatile" but that investments in large infrastructure projects being made around the world provided opportunities for growth.

GE announced last week it would sell most of the assets in its GE Capital subsidiary, the latest and most dramatic move by the company to transform itself into a more focused industrial conglomerate that makes large, complicated equipment for other businesses.