General Electric Co. on Friday posted a record backlog of orders that the company said positioned it well for 2014, lifting shares and overshadowing a decline in quarterly profit and revenue.
Chairman and Chief Executive Jeff Immelt sounded an optimistic tone to end a week of economic uncertainty during the debt ceiling debate in Washington, saying the conglomerate's results were "very strong in an improving global business environment."
Its backlog for everything from jet engines to locomotives to turbines jumped nearly 13 percent compared with the year-ago quarter. Earnings increased at six of GE's seven industrial businesses, and the company said it was on track to achieve its target for expanding profit margins for the year.
Net income fell to $3.19 billion (1.96 billion pounds), or 31 cents per share, in the third quarter, from $3.49 billion, or 33 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding one-time items, earnings of 36 cents per share topped the average estimate of analysts by a penny, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Revenue fell 1.5 percent to $35.7 billion. Analysts looked for nearly $36 billion.
Revenue was weighed down by its GE Capital finance arm, which the company is shrinking, and a $132 million toll from the negative impact of foreign currency translation.
Source: Reuters
