GE profits soar in third quarter

LYNN – GE profits soared during the third quarter by 14 percent, the company announced Friday.During that three-month period, which ended Sept. 30, the company earned $5.54 billion, or 54 cents per share. Comparatively, GE stock a year ago in the third quarter earned $4.87 billion, or 47 cents a share.Much of the growth was attributed to strong global sales of aircraft engines, locomotives and other equipment. Industry analysts said the rate of expansion at the industrial, finance and media conglomerate based in Fairfield, Conn. was anticipated and matched Wall Street expectations.The company owns diverse properties, from jet engine aircraft manufacturing facilities like the River Works in Lynn and a much larger operation in Evendale, Ohio, to the NBC television network.”Aviation is certainly contributing to the company’s positive performance. It is operating with a significant order book, a robust backlog of engines and significant resource and financial commitment to development programs,” said Richard Gorham, the GE spokesman in Lynn. “The Lynn facility continues to see solid workload in its component shops, key engineering efforts are underway, and investment in plant and equipment is significant.”The River Works makes engines for the country’s most advanced tactical fighter planes and attack helicopters.GE executives explained that the company took a $1.4 billion charge for its planned sale of a Japanese personal loan business and a mortgage business, while realizing a gain of $1.8 billion from the sale of its plastic business.Thomson Financial earlier surveyed analysts who forecast quarterly earnings of 50 cents per share. The reality was rosier, with revenue increasing 12 percent to $42.5 billion from $37.8 billion a year earlier.”GE delivered a solid quarter in spite of extreme volatility in the financial services market and some one-time items in our industrial businesses,” said GE Chairman and Chief Executive Jeff Immelt.Immelt confirmed the 12 percent profit in the company’s so-called 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,” he said.The aviation business, which directly impacts operations in Lynn, remained solid as equipment orders rose 93 percent, according to Immelt, noting GE 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 told analysts Friday. “We continue to see solid growth everywhere. We have more in backlog than any time in our history.”Health care was the only segment of the company business to show a decline, down one percent to $692 million, he said.Nonetheless, NBC television, 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.Associated Press material was used in this report.