GE pointed to some recent aviation engine orders for new Boeing and Airbus planes, as well as an uptick in gas turbine orders. However, overall orders were still down for both power and aviation compared with the year-ago period.

The company reported a US$2.9 billion loss, compared with profits of US$6.2 billion in the year-ago period, when GE booked a large gain from a divestiture.

Revenues fell 12% to US$17.1 billion.

Besides power and aviation, revenues also fell in healthcare. Some of GE’s healthcare equipment has seen less use as consumers defer non-essential medical procedures during the pandemic.

Chief Executive Larry Culp, who has overseen cost-cutting efforts and divestitures to reduce debt, said he was “proud of the GE team’s solid first-quarter results, despite a still difficult environment for aviation”.

GE said a deal announced in March to sell its aircraft leasing business to AerCap for US$30 billion would enable it to achieve a total debt reduction of more than US$70 billion since the end of 2018.

The company reaffirmed its full-year forecasts, including industrial revenue growth in the “low-single-digit range”, excluding the effect of acquisitions and divestitures.

Shares fell 2.8% to US$13.19 in pre-market trading.