GE CFO Keith Sherin says Company is Safe and Secure and Sees No Need for New Capital; Financial Services Business Expected to be Profitable in First Quarter and Full Year 2009;
Will Host GE Capital Investor Meeting the Week of March 16
GE CFO Keith Sherin said today that the Company has taken the right steps to ensure that it is safe and secure in this environment and that he sees no need to raise additional capital. Mr. Sherin said GE's financial services business expects to be profitable in the first quarter of 2009 and for the full year, and the Company will provide a detailed review of the financial services business the week of March 16 in a dedicated GE Capital meeting.
"We have taken a number of actions to make the Company stronger and safer. These actions have given us an incredibly strong liquidity position, including $45 billion in cash," Sherin said. "We have no triggers that we can see that would have any call on our cash in the short-term; and we have $60 billion of additional capacity available under the Temporary Loan Guarantee Program (TLGP). We've done 70% of the long-term debt we need for this year, and we're going to complete the remainder of 2009's funding needs in the near future. We have the capacity under TLGP to complete 2010's funding needs as well.
Mr. Sherin said he expects the financial services business to be profitable for the first quarter and full-year 2009, and he addressed questions on the Company's position on cash generation and loss reserves: "Over a three-year period here, we expect GE Capital to be profitable, even after $35 billion of losses and impairments. We're looking today for GE's total cash flow to be around $16 billion for the year. In our stress case we could be down in the $14 billion level. In either scenario, we can fund the company. If conditions were to deteriorate beyond what is in our stress scenario, we also have the option of scaling back originations in GE Capital to conserve cash and capital."
Mr. Sherin corrected some of the inaccuracies circulating in the market, including the rumor the Company has $45 billion in commercial mortgage backed securities (CMBS) that will need to be marked down, "I have no idea where that comes from. We don't have $45 billion in CMBS. We have a $50 billion commercial real estate loan book. It's a senior secured position and we underwrite each individual property. We have about $34 billion of equity. That's the actual value of the properties, with over 80% of that with no third party debt." The Company has $2.9 billion of CMBS in its investment portfolio, as reported in its 2008 10-K.
Mr. Sherin announced that GE would host a dedicated GE Capital investor meeting the week of March 16: "We will do a deep dive around the hot spots in the Company, including real estate, U.S. consumer, global mortgage with a focus on UK home lending, and central and eastern Europe exposure." Mr. Sherin said the Company will also present the results of its stress test at the meeting to demonstrate the ability of its financial services business to absorb and handle losses even in this difficult environment.
Mr. Sherin also highlighted the strength of the Company's industrial businesses, "We've got a big equipment backlog in the infrastructure businesses, and we have a huge services business. The long cycle energy business should have a very strong year. The technology infrastructure business and aviation are in a good position, mostly driven by the service business. Healthcare and NBC Universal will probably have a tough year."
Mr. Sherin addressed these topics and others this morning on CNBC's Squawk Box. The full video is available at www.cnbc.com. CNBC is part of NBC Universal, one of GE's four business segments.
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GE (NYSE: GE) is a diversified infrastructure, finance and media company taking on the world's toughest challenges. From aircraft engines and power generation to financial services, medical imaging, and television programming, GE operates in more than 100 countries and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.ge.com.
Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements:
This document contains "forward-looking statements"- that is, statements related to future, not past, events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address our expected future business and financial performance and financial condition, and often contain words such as "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," believe," "seek," "see," or "will." Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. For us, particular uncertainties that could cause our actual results to be materially different than those expressed in our forward-looking statements include: the severity and duration of current economic and financial conditions, including volatility in interest and exchange rates, commodity and equity prices and the value of financial assets; the impact of U.S. and foreign government programs to restore liquidity and stimulate national and global economies; the impact of conditions in the financial and credit markets on the availability and cost of GE Capital's funding and on our ability to reduce GE Capital's asset levels and commercial paper exposure as planned; the impact of conditions in the housing market and unemployment rates on the level of commercial and consumer credit defaults; our ability to maintain our current credit rating and the impact on our funding costs and competitive position if we do not do so; the soundness of other financial institutions with which GE Capital does business; the adequacy of our cash flow and earnings and other conditions which may affect our ability to maintain our quarterly dividend at the current level; the level of demand and financial performance of the major industries we serve, including, without limitation, air and rail transportation, energy generation, network television, real estate and healthcare; the impact of regulation and regulatory, investigative and legal proceedings and legal compliance risks; strategic actions, including acquisitions and dispositions and our success in integrating acquired businesses; and numerous other matters of national, regional and global scale, including those of a political, economic, business and competitive nature. These uncertainties may cause our actual future results to be materially different than those expressed in our forward-looking statements. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements.
Russell Wilkerson
GE Capital Managing Director of Communications and Public Affairs
[email protected]
1-203-840-6420
1-203-581-2114
Trevor Schauenberg
GE Corporate VP Investor Communications
[email protected]
1-203-373-2424