Welsh political and business leaders, GE executives, and their major customers gathered at the Baglan Bay power station in September to celebrate the commercial operation of what is said to be the world's most powerful and efficient gas turbine combined cycle technology, GE'S new H system turbine.
But GE Power Systems ceo John Rice expressed his belief that the company would not see any return on its H series investment for at least five years owing to a downturn in the demand for new power stations, a market likely to remain depressed until at least the end of 2004. New orders for this year and next, he said, were would probably not exceed 50 GW per year, only half the figure for 2002.
This will affect strongly the power system division's sales figures, to which gas turbines contribute about a third. Analysts expect a fall to $18 billion in 2003 sales compared to the 2002 figure of almost $23 billion, earning $6.3 billion in operating profit for the group.
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