GE CEO Irked by Stock’s Performance

General Electric Co.’s Jeffrey Immelt, in his first address as chairman and chief executive at the company’s annual shareholder meeting, expressed his displeasure with the performance of GE stock since he took control in September.

“I hate where the stock price is,” Immelt said during the meeting at the Waukesha, Wis., headquarters of GE’s medical-imaging unit. “Our stock price today does not reflect the performance, or the value, of our company.”

Immelt reiterated that sales will rise at least 5% this year, led by acquisitions and growth in expanding markets such as China. GE shares have dropped 17% since Immelt succeeded Jack Welch--lagging behind the gains of benchmark indexes--on concern about declining sales and questions about the transparency of the company’s accounting.

The firm’s more economically sensitive businesses, plastics and the NBC broadcasting network, are improving, he said.

Net income at GE fell for the first time in more than seven years in the first quarter because of a decline in the value of some of its acquisitions, and sales were little changed.

GE shares fell 30 cents to $32.50 on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock has dropped 19% this year, compared with a 4.8% slump in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index.