General Electric Co. on Friday said second-quarter earnings rose slightly, as strong order growth offset deal-related costs and weakness in its energy business. (MSNBC is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC, which is a GE company.)
GE, whose businesses range from jet engines and appliances to medical devices and the NBC network, earned $3.92 billion, or 38 cents a share. That compared with $3.79 billion, or 38 a share, a year earlier.
The Fairfield, Conn.-based company, the world’s largest by market capitalization, said revenue rose 11 percent to $37 billion, beating analysts’ expectations of $35.59 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.
“Orders continue to be strong, growing at 13 percent, with services orders up 29 percent,” said GE Chairman and Chief Executive Jeff Immelt. “This is the best economy we’ve seen in years.”
Analysts’ on average expected GE, which is seen as an economic barometer because of its diverse businesses, to post earnings of 37 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates.
The company said it expected to report earnings in a range of $1.55 to $1.60 per share for the full year, adding that it was confident of delivering 10 to 15 percent earnings per share growth for next year. Analysts, on average, expect the company to earn $1.57 per share for the year.
In the most recent period, GE had several deal-related costs from its recent acquisition activity such as the divestiture of its Genworth insurance business. GE’s energy business posted a 40 percent decline in profit for the period.
