Real estate still roiling GE books

General Electric Co. continued to record real estate losses in its GE Capital subsidiary, which had the worst quarter of GE”™s five divisions as revenue fell 10 percent and profits 41 percent.

GE is based in Fairfield and GE Capital has its headquarters in Norwalk. The company is among the largest employers in Fairfield County with more than 4,000 workers.

In the first quarter, GE had a $2.3 billion profit, down 18 percent from a year ago, on revenue of $36.6 billion, down 5 percent, which it attributed to an acceleration in downsizing at GE Capital. The unit had a $603 million operating profit on $12.3 billion in revenue, including $403 million in losses at GE Real Estate, which is also based in Norwalk.

“We are seeing solid signs of stabilization,” said Jeff Immelt, CEO of GE, in a prepared statement. “Losses, delinquencies and non-earning assets ”¦ declined in the quarter. At the same time, reserve coverage increased. We are originating new business at attractive margins and our funding costs have declined. GE Capital losses seem to have peaked. Commercial real estate continues to be challenging, but the risks are understood and we expect them to be manageable.”

Immelt added the company continues to evaluate restructuring, without specifying what form that might take.