January 30, 2020
OUR WORK CONTINUES
GE met or exceeded its total financial targets in 2019, the company said Wednesday, reporting organic revenue growth, margin expansion and positive cash flow. GE Chairman and CEO H. Lawrence Culp Jr. said GE was on a positive trajectory for 2020. “We’re proud of our progress in 2019, including decisive actions to reduce our leverage and strengthen our businesses. Our work continues but GE’s committed team, exceptional technology, and global network make me more confident than ever that we can deliver,” he said.
Powerful indicators: The company ended the year with a strong backlog of $405 billion, up 15% year over year, and said it had achieved progress in important strategic priorities, such as reducing its debt ratio and improving performance by rolling out the Lean system of management across its business units. A GE Aviation plant in Mississippi, for instance, was able to reduce losses by more than 60% using Lean. It wasn’t the only corner of GE reporting encouraging progress: The company’s businesses were buoyed by ultraefficient gas turbines (GE Power), the world’s most powerful offshore wind turbine (GE Renewable Energy), healthcare imaging aided by artificial intelligence (GE Healthcare) — and much more.
Learn more here about GE’s fourth-quarter and full-year 2019 results — as well as its financial targets for 2020.
FAST FRIENDS
CFM International announced this week it had signed a $1.3 billion rate-per-flight-hour agreement with Jazeera Airways to support the LEAP-1A engines that power the airline’s fleet of 20 Airbus A320neo aircraft. RPFH agreements are part of the portfolio of flexible engine support service packages offered by CFM, a 50-50 joint venture between GE and France’s Safran Aircraft Engines. “The LEAP engine is a real asset to our daily operations in harsh environments and we look forward to introducing more of these engines in the coming months,” said Jazeera CEO Rohit Ramachandran. “We have been really happy with the reliability and the best-in-class support provided by CFM over the years, so we are delighted to expand our relationship through this new agreement.”
Engine of progress: With the LEAP engine, designers were able to slash fuel consumption by 15% over its predecessor by using a combination of advanced manufacturing techniques — namely 3D printing, which allows for the creation of terrifically complex parts — and innovative materials such as ceramic matrix composites. Every two seconds of every day, a CFM-powered aircraft takes off somewhere in the world. As of December 2019, CFM has received orders and commitments for more than 19,000 LEAP engines, including spares; the LEAP family of engines is the fastest selling in aviation history.
Learn more here about the deal between Jazeera Airways and CFM International.
— VIDEO OF THE WEEK —
A team at GE Aviation used the Lean manufacturing method to turn around a plant in Batesville, Mississippi, making parts for the latest fuel efficient jet engines.
— QUOTE OF THE DAY —
“Our priorities looking forward are clear. We are solidifying our financial position, continuing to strengthen our businesses as improvement efforts build momentum, and driving long-term profitable growth.”
— H. Lawrence Culp Jr., GE chairman and CEO
Quote: GE Reports. Image: GE Aviation.
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