The U.S. General Electric (GE) giant registered a 15 percent rise in terms of sales in the region, which includes Romania, Bulgaria and the Republic of Moldova, said Cristian Colteanu, GE’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for this region. According to Business Standard calculations, based on information that GE had registered sales worth some $400 million in the region in 2007 (triple year-on-year), the enterprise is expected to post some $460 mln in sales for 2008. “In the past three or four years, the company made investments of $500 mln in this region,” said Colteanu, adding that Romania has an 80 percent share, Bulgaria a 19 percent share, and the Republic of Moldova, one percent.The company’s CEO for this region indicated that the company has contracts with local suppliers worth an annual $60 mln. According to Colteanu, the company’s long-term goal is the consolidation of its position as top supplier, basing its growth on the energy, medical equipment, and “green” product fields. The firm also plans to maintain its position as preferred recruiter, considering that GE has over 1,200 employees in Romania. The net profit of the U.S. group, which is present on the Romanian market through activities in the energy, medical, industrial, and financial sectors, dropped 44 percent in last year’s final quarter, to $3.7 billion. Positive results in industry and energy were canceled by the sharp decline registered by its financial division, according to a company statement. GE shares plunged over 60 percent last year on the New York Stock Exchange, when the group lost some $200 bln in its market value, exceeding by far the 32 percent fall of the Dow Jones index, which is computed from the stock prices of the top 30 largest and most widely held public companies in the United States.
