GE Healthcare Q1 performance

As we report our first quarter results, the world continues to face the COVID-19 pandemic. GE Healthcare employees are performing crucial work to keep up the supply of medical equipment to those on the front lines, to keep that equipment in good working order and to support the medical staff using it. The first quarter saw orders up 7 percent, driven by an increase in demand related to COVID-19, primarily in Respiratory, CT, Monitoring Solutions, X-Ray, Anesthesia and Point of Care Ultrasound.

At the same time, demand for other diagnostic products declined as certain elective procedures were postponed and hospitals delayed some capital investments. We saw this affect our MRI, Interventional and Pharmaceutical Diagnostics businesses. To be clear, these diagnostic tools are still critical in areas such as oncology, cardiology and obstetrics but are currently experiencing lower demand. As hospitals return to more normal operations in China, we’re seeing a ramp in previously deferred elective procedures and an increased demand for our equipment.  Overall, sales were up 1 percent, and operating profit up 15 percent. 

As GE CEO Larry Culp said today, “During this unprecedented pandemic, the GE team is focused on protecting the safety of our employees and communities, serving customers in their critical time of need, and preserving our strength for the long term. GE is delivering critical infrastructure across the globe, including our teams at Healthcare supporting caregivers who diagnose and treat COVID-19 patients every day."

In the first quarter, we saw the best of what our people can do. In Madison, Wisconsin, where we make ventilators, we have doubled capacity and are doubling it again. We have onboarded new employees, rehired retirees and even shifted office-workers onto production lines to increase output. Separately, our efforts with Ford to quickly scale an Airon-designed ventilator for emergency use will provide an additional supply of critical medical equipment needed to arm clinicians in the fight against COVID-19. Elsewhere, initially in China, we created a CT in a Box solution for when a hospital needs a CT faster than usual*, and we’ve provided information to customers to support ventilation for COVID-19 in alignment with guidance from the FDA.

Earlier in the quarter, we launched cybersecurity offering Skeye, to help healthcare systems better protect against risk. GE also completed the sale of the Biopharma business to Danaher, which resulted in $20 billion of net proceeds.

As our digital journey continues, we are well-placed at the center of an ecosystem striving for precision health. By bringing together our machines with software, analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI) through our Edison software platform, while also leveraging our global scale and track record of innovation, we’re helping make care delivery more efficient and personalized. I am very proud of the work our team is doing to combat COVID-19.

*subject to availability in different markets