General Electric today posted a 24 per cent rise in quarterly profit.
Net income rose to $4.65 billion, or 44 cents a share, in the second quarter, from $3.75 billion, or 36 cents a share, a year earlier. Quarterly sales rose 13 per cent to $41.56 billion from $36.78 billion last year. Orders increased 13 per cent.
Analysts had expected GE to earn 44 cents a share before extraordinary items on revenue of $41.85 billion, according to estimates.
The figures come on firm demand for its medical equipment, recovering earnings at its plastics business, and strong growth at its financial units.
The earnings improvement came from nearly every corner of the media, financial and industrial giant's business portfolio, with all 11 operating segments posting a profit gain of more than 10 per cent.
For the full year, GE lifted the low end of its earnings per share forecast range by 2 cents to $1.80. It kept the high end unchanged at $1.83.
The company, based in Fairfield, Connecticut, reshuffled its 11 business units into six operating segments earlier this month, but it reported its second-quarter earnings using its previous organisational structure.
