LONDON (ShareCast) - (ShareCast News) - US industrial giant General Electric reported net profits of $1.34bn for the second quarter of 2017, 53% less than its earnings for the same quarter in 2016.
GE's shares suffered when Wall Street opened and its latest earnings report sunk in, falling 3.44% to lead the fallers on the Dow Jones as of 16:01 BST.

Revenue was also lower than in the year-ago period, falling 12% from $33.49bn to $29.558bn.

The firm's profits actually fell less than what analysts had forecast, with earnings per share coming in at 28 cents, against the 25 cents estimated. Revenue was also slightly higher than forecasts for $29.015bn.

GE's earnings report will be the last for outgoing CEO Jeff Immelt, who had been criticised by many of the company's shareholders.

Immelt oversaw a period of consolidation for GE over the best part of two decades, following 20 years of significant growth under the leadership of Jack Welch.

STRUGGLES

GE has struggled somewhat in the stock market in recent times, with its stock falling almost 21% year-to-date.

In reaction, the company has agreed to make cuts worth around $2bn as it faces pressure from investors over its finances.

Immelt acknowledged it was a challenging time for GE, and said it had successfully attempted to cost cuts in order to sustain profits.

"We've reduced our Industrial structural costs year to date by $670 million and we are on track to meet or exceed our $1 billion cost reduction target for the year," Immelt said. "The global scale of the Company, along with our ability to innovate industry-leading products and services, will help us navigate the current environment and unlock productivity across our businesses and markets."

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