General Electric Co.’s share price down, posts second-quarter profit that matches analysts’ forecasts, prepares Synchrony IPO

General Electric Co. made an official statement today, announcing its profit over the second quarter that matched analysts expectations. The profit was boosted by increasing industrial margins, while the company is preparing for its Synchrony Financial divisions Initial Public Offering.

According to General Electrics statement, the second-quarter adjusted profit from continuing operations increased by 8% to 3.9 billion dollars, which makes 39 cents per share.

According to people with knowledge of the companys plans, General Electric Co. plans to carry out the Initial Public Offering of its consumer-finance unit called Synchrony Financial as soon as Friday. The IPO of the unit is considered a crucial step in the overall strategy of Mr. Jeffrey Immelts strategy to reduce the financial operations of General Electric.

General Electric Co. also confirmed that it intends to launch the Initial Public Offering of the North American store credit division at the end of July. As reported by the Financial Times, the company said that its step was part of an already “planned, staged exit” from that business segment.

In addition, the company shared its belief that the Alstom deal, which is expected to be finalized in 2015, would help it add between 6 and 9 cents per share on an annual basis to its earnings by 2016.

One of the analysts, who work at Edwards Jones & Co. – Mr. Christian Mayes commented on the companys plans to acquire the energy assets of Astom SA for Bloomberg: “This transition toward a more industrial focus will continue to take more time. he finance business is slowing down the growth.” Mr. Mayes also expressed his opinion on the upcoming Initial Public Offering of General Electrics Synchrony Financial business, saying that the IPO is “an important part of transitioning toward an industrial focus.”

General Electric Co. was 0.79% down to trade at 26.40 dollars per share by 14:44 BST, marking a one-year change of +11.72%. According to the information published on CNN Money, the 10 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for General Electric Co. have a median target of 28.50, with a high estimate of 32.00 and a low estimate of 27.00. The median estimate represents a +7.10% increase from the last price of 26.61.