GE Appliances Our number-one objective is superiority in consumer satisfaction. J. Richard Stonesifer, President and Chief Executive Officer, GE Appliances GE Appliances enjoyed a record-setting 1994, posting about $6 billion in revenues. A strong U.S. economy, solid market share gains and our best productivity savings in a decade enabled us to achieve high double-digit growth in earnings and to reach the highest earnings and sales levels in our history. We grew U.S. appliance sales by 12%, with strong double-digit growth of operating margin. It also is important to note that we realized these gains while making major investments in our plants, our products and our growth initiatives in key global markets. Our number-one objective is superiority in consumer satisfaction, and we are developing new processes throughout our business to make this a reality. We're committed to understanding the needs of the consumer better than any other appliance manufacturer, and to providing the highest-quality, most-innovative products and services to meet those needs. In 1994, we introduced more than 300 new models, including two new leadership products in refrigeration: the GE Profile(TM) 30 side-by-side, the world's largest freestanding refrigerator, and a 27-cubic-foot Profile(TM) side-by-side that is completely free of chlorofluorocarbons in the compressor refrigerant. The Profile 30 refrigerator offers 30 cubic feet of storage capacity in virtually the same space as a 27-cubic-foot model, meeting consumer demand for greater storage capacity. The Profile 27 offers high performance and an array of SmartSpace features, with the added benefit of contributing to a better environment. Both of these new products are the direct result of a $125 million expansion of our Bloomington, Ind., refrigerator plant. Also in 1994, we reached $1 billion in electric and gas range sales for the first time. We introduced new cooking products at a faster pace, including Profile halogen/radiant cooktops that offer consumers the option of halogen or radiant cooking, and new 30-inch wall ovens, the largest-capacity wall ovens in the consumer market. As part of our quest for consumer satisfaction and quality, we are constantly working to improve internal processes and efficiency. At Appliance Park, our flagship manufacturing facility in Louisville, Ky., our Save the Park effort continues, and we're celebrating a $91 million turnaround in profitability there in the first two years. As a result of this joint effort between management and unions, we're completing a $70 million investment in the Park's home laundry plant, which will result in a brand-new laundry line for 1995. We're also nearing completion of another $70 million investment in the Park's large top-mount refrigerator facility. In the global marketplace, we're focusing our efforts on the world's fastest-growing markets, including India, China, Southeast Asia and South America. We had double-digit growth in those combined markets in 1994. We also strengthened our alliances in Mexico and India, and we developed a number of new products specifically for global markets. Our focus on consumer satisfaction, quality, product leadership and productivity has positioned us to grow our business in both U.S. and global markets in 1995. Our goal is to become the appliance manufacturer whose products, services and brands are most preferred by consumers. In order to reach that goal, we will continue to work toward our vision of being one team, better and faster than anybody else in the world.

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