GE posts higher 3Q profit
The Fairfield-based industrial, finance and media conglomerate, whose properties range from aircraft engine manufacturing to the NBC television network, reaffirmed its profit outlook for the year.
The company earned $5.54 billion, or 54 cents per share, in the three months that ended Sept. 30, up from $4.87 billion, or 47 cents a share, a year ago.
Earnings from continuing operations were 50 cents per share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected earnings per share of 50 cents.
Revenue rose 12 percent to $42.5 billion from $37.8 billion a year earlier.
But its shares fell 77 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $40.83 in morning trading Friday.
Christopher Glynn, an industrial analyst at CIBC World Markets, said the stock may have fallen due to routine profit-taking and a lag in some industrial businesses such as health care.
GE Chairman and Chief Executive Jeff Immelt called it a solid quarter' despite "extreme volatility in the financial services market" and some one-time items in its industrial businesses.
He said profit grew 12 percent in the infrastructure segment, led by a strong performance in the oil and gas, transportation, and energy businesses. That includes strong sales globally of aircraft engines, gas turbines and locomotives, company officials said.
The aviation business was solid as equipment orders rose 93 percent, he said.
GE said total orders were up 20 percent to $24 billion, while global sales grew 15 percent. Total backlog grew $19 billion, a 43 percent increase, company officials said.
"The global markets remain very strong," Immelt said during a conference call with analysts. "We continue to see solid growth every where."
"We have more in backlog than any time in our history," Immelt said during the call.
Profits at commercial finance increased 12 percent to $1.45 billion; GE money, up 13 percent to $942 million; NBC Universal, up 9 percent to $589 million; and industrial, up 6 percent to $513 million.
Health care was the only segment to decline, down 1 percent to $692 million.
NBC, which was hurt in recent years by the loss of popular shows such as "Friends," benefited from the successful launch of its prime-time television line-up, a strong cable performance and popular summer films, company officials said.
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