FAIRFIELD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GE (NYSE: GE) today announced that its 2010 annual report entitled “Growth Starts Here” is now available on the Company’s Web site at www.ge.com/ar2010/. An iPad version will be available later today for free download at the iTunes Appstore here http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ge-annual-report-2010/id425705238?mt=8&ls=1.
“In 2010, growth resumed and our earnings expanded by 15%,” GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt writes in his letter to shareowners. “GE Capital’s earnings rebounded sharply. We raised the dividend twice, for a combined 40% increase. Our stock price responded well, up 21% for the year. Our aim in 2011 and beyond is to continue the progress.
“Two years ago, in the depths of the global economic collapse,” Immelt writes, “I promised that GE would emerge from the recession a better company. We have. Our financial performance is accelerating. We have extended our competitive advantage, while investing in growth. We fortified our leadership and culture. The world we face in 2011 is getting better. We see signs of economic strength every day.
“GE’s value is more than the sum of its parts.” Immelt describes today’s GE as ”an innovative, advanced technology and infrastructure and financial services company with the scale, resources and expertise to solve tough global problems for customers and society. We are a competitive force for change…. And GE’s best days are ahead.”
In addition to the four million print copies currently being mailed to shareowners, the digital GE annual report includes photo-driven explanations of the Company’s six growth imperatives: launching great new products; growing services and software; leading in growth markets; expanding from the core; creating value in specialty finance; and solving tough global challenges for customer and society. Interactive elements include a summary opening video showcasing breadth of the GE portfolio; video commentary from Immelt; self-narrated employee and partner stories; and an interactive global map of regional employment, innovation, revenue and GE product-and-services benefits, among other items. A letter from the Board’s Presiding Director Ralph Larsen on the Company’s corporate governance and compensation philosophy, and a comprehensive financial section, round out the report.
Distribution of printed annual reports and proxy statements begins this week in preparation for GE’s annual shareowners meeting on Thursday, April 27, 2011, in Salt Lake City, Utah.
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 about 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: 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 conditions in the financial and credit markets on the availability and cost of General Electric Capital Corporation’s (GECC) funding and on our ability to reduce GECC’s asset levels as planned; the impact of conditions in the housing market and unemployment rates on the level of commercial and consumer credit defaults; changes in Japanese consumer behavior that may affect our estimates of liability for excess interest refund claims (Grey Zone); 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 adequacy of our cash flow and earnings and other conditions which may affect our ability to pay our quarterly dividend at the planned 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, including the impact of financial services regulation; strategic actions, including acquisitions, joint ventures and dispositions and our success in completing announced transactions and 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.