Big industrials get back to basics

Article Excerpt

General Electric and ABB Ltd. (see box) are refocusing on their industrial operations. That positions them to profit as both developed and emerging nations upgrade their power grids. GENERAL ELECTRIC CO. $24 (New York symbol GE; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 10.0 billion; Market cap: $240.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.7; Dividend yield: 3.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.ge.com) recently agreed to form a major new alliance with France’s Alstom SA, a leading maker of electrical-transmission equipment and parts for power plants. Under the deal, GE will form three 50/50 joint ventures with Alstom. One will combine the companies’ electrical grid operations, while a second will focus on products for renewable energy projects, like offshore wind farms. The third will hold Alstom’s nuclear-equipment division. In all, GE will pay $10 billion when the Alstom deal closes in 2015. The new operations it brings should add about $0.07 a share to GE’s annual earnings, starting in…