GE HealthCare marked the completion of its spin-off from General Electric by ringing the opening bell for the Nasdaq stock exchange Wednesday from the production floor of its facility in Waukesha.
The newly independent Chicago-based company is spinning off from GE with around 51,000 employees and nearly $18 billion in annual revenue. GE retained roughly 19.9% of the company’s stock while 80.1% was distributed to GE shareholders.
After opening at $54.13 this morning, shares of GE HealthCare traded as high as $60.71 and were trading around $59 as of 11:30 a.m.
Peter Arduini, president and chief executive officer of GE HealthCare, joined with company executives and employees to remotely ring the opening Nasdaq bell. The company also joined the S&P 500.
Arduini called Wednesday “an incredibly exciting day” and said GE HealthCare was starting a new chapter in its leadership of precision health care.
“We’re bringing the best of our GE heritage to a more focused, agile, customer centric and digital approach,” he said.
“We are on the verge of true industry transformation as digital innovation reshapes the experience of patients and providers with an increased need for more precise, connected, and efficient care,” Arduini added. “GE HealthCare colleagues worldwide are united in our purpose to create a world where health care has no limits, and we look forward to delivering for providers, patients, and shareholders in the years ahead.”
In December, GE HealthCare executives set medium-term targets for the company that included revenue growth in the mid-single digits, up from 3% in recent years, and adjusted EBIT margins in the high-teens to 20%, up from 15% to 18% in recent years.
Revenue growth would be driven by customer demand, industry growth, new product introductions, commercial execution and increased research and development spending.
Improved margins and free cash flow would come from a number of areas, including implementing lean efforts across the business.
Executives pointed to the company’s real estate holdings as one area under evaluation.
“We are taking a very hard look at our real estate footprint, and we have a great opportunity to reduce rent and operating costs,” GE HealthCare chief financial officer Helmut Zodl said at the company’s investor day in December. “We are targeting about more than 100 of sites with reductions as we go forward. And this will reduce cost as well as optimize our footprint and supply chain.”
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