US conglomerate General Electric on Friday posted better-than-expected fourth quarter and 2010 profits, and said it was upbeat about the outlook for this year and the next. GE said 2010 profit jumped to $12.6 billion dollars, up 15.6 percent from $10.9 billion in 2009.
Earnings per share of $1.15 beat analyst expectations of $1.12. Full-year revenue fell 4.19 percent to $150.2 billion, but that was still above the average analyst estimate of $150.0 billion. For the fourth quarter, GE posted earnings of $3.9 billion.
The Connecticut-based giant, whose products range from aircraft engines to home appliances, reported earnings per share of 36 cents, up 33 percent from the same period in 2009. Most analysts had anticipated earnings per share of 32 cents. Considered a bellwether for the US economy because of its highly diversified businesses, GE reported the first positive revenue growth in nine quarters in the final three months of 2010, as sales rose to $41.4 billion.
"GE ended 2010 with three consecutive quarters of strong earnings growth," Jeff Immelt, GE chairman and chief executive, said in a statement. Immelt said the company's total orders backlog grew $3.1 billion in the final three months "to a record $175 billion."
"GE exits 2010 with significant momentum," he said. "As we shared at our December 2010 investor update, we expect that GE earnings growth will continue in 2011 and 2012." Shares in GE surged 5.64 percent higher to $19.47 in early New York trade.