By Alwyn Scott
NEW YORK (Reuters) - General Electric Co expects its core power-plant business to lose significant cash this year and does not expect large improvement in that unit's cash flow margins for at least three years, the company's chief financial officer said on Wednesday.
"Power was a very significant negative cash flow generator last year. We expect it to be also significantly negative this year," CFO Jamie Miller said at an investor conference hosted by Goldman Sachs.
Miller said GE had expected some power-plant orders that it booked in the first quarter to be more spread throughout the year, suggesting that the relatively strong quarter did not signal a turnaround in the ailing unit.
Reuters reported on Tuesday that GE booked six orders for "advanced class" turbines in the quarter, putting it ahead of rivals Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems and Siemens AG .
GE shares were down 0.5 percent at $10.27 in morning trading, after falling as low as $10.19 after Miller spoke.
(Reporting by Alwyn Scott; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)
