General Electric Q1 profit falls 12% but tops estimates
If you missed our coverage, here are the top 10 stories of the day.
General Electric Co. said on Friday that its first-quarter profit fell 12 per cent, although it topped Wall estimates when some one-time items are excluded.
The industrial and financial giant said its primary manufacturing operation has rebounded after posting weak results following the global recession. Its industrial business, which includes transportation, health care and energy infrastructure, boosted profit by 10 per cent in the quarter.
Altogether, GE reported earnings of $3.03 billion, or 29 cents per share, for the first quarter. That compares with $3.4 million, or 31 cents per share, for the same part of 2011. Revenue slipped by 8 per cent to $35.2 billion.
Excluding special items, GE says it earned 34 cents per share.
Analysts, who typically exclude special items in their estimates, were expecting earnings of 33 cents per share on sales of $34.8 billion.
GE said profit increased 10 per cent in energy infrastructure, its largest industrial business by revenue. Profit also rose 48 per cent in its transportation segment, 10 per cent in health care, and 2 per cent in aviation. Profit fell 11 per cent in its home and business solutions segment.
On top of the strong quarterly performance, orders for locomotives, aircraft engines and other industrial equipment grew by double-digit rates for the quarter.
The company's GE Capital lending reported a profit increase of 6 per cent.
The Fairfield, Conn., company has a stake in almost every sector of the economy, from light bulbs and credit cards to windmills.
Shares of GE rose 13 cents to $19.27 in premarket trading.