General Electric today reported a 25 per cent rise in quarterly profit as strong demand for diagnostic equipment and price increases sent revenue well above Wall Street's expectations.
Shares of the media, finance and industrial conglomerate - which is considered a bellwether for the US economy due its wide range of businesses - rose more than 1 per cent in early trading.
GE said first-quarter net income rose to $4 billion, or 38 cents a share, from $3.2 billion, or 32 cents a share, a year earlier.
Analysts on average had forecast 37 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates.
For the full year, GE said it now expects earnings of at least $1.78 a share, 2 cents higher than the previous low end of its forecast. The company kept the top end at $1.83 a share.
Revenue rose 19 per cent to $39.8 billion, compared with Wall Street's consensus estimate of $37.96 billion. Orders during the quarter rose 16 percent from a year earlier.
