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GE Q4 Profit Climbs 15%; Stock Rebounds

Globalization, weak dollar drive growth; stock price jumps

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted Jan 18, 2008 1:41 PM CST
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(Newser) – GE profits rose 15% in the fourth quarter as overseas demand for jet engines and power turbines more than offset the weakness in the US economy, the company reported today. “They've really been a beneficiary of the whole global growth story,” an analyst told Bloomberg. GE stock was up 3.4% at midday; earlier, it rose 5.3%, its biggest gain in almost 5 years, erasing yesterday's 3.9% drop.

CEO Jeffrey Immelt reiterated his $2.42-per-share 2008 profit forecast, telling investors not to sweat a US slowdown. “Every place we went there's a need for power, there's a need for planes,” he said. “There's just no sign this global infrastructure boom is slowing at all.” Profits at NBC Universal climbed 10% despite the writers strike as cable and film properties took up the slack.

General Electric Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey R. Immelt speaks 14 November 2007 during the 20th World Energy Congress in Rome. With several member committees in over 90 countries, the goal of the World Energy Council is to monitor the status of the energy sector and to find solutions...
General Electric Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey R. Immelt speaks 14 November 2007 during the 20th World Energy Congress in Rome. With several member committees in over 90 countries, the...   (Getty Images)
Jeffrey R. Immelt, chairman and CEO of General Electric, addresses the delegates at the 20th World Energy Congress & Exhibition in Rome, Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2007. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)
Jeffrey R. Immelt, chairman and CEO of General Electric, addresses the delegates at the 20th World Energy Congress & Exhibition in Rome, Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2007. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)   (Associated Press)
General Electric's fourth-quarter net income rose 4%.
General Electric's fourth-quarter net income rose 4%.   (Official Logo)
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NBC Universal • General Electric • earnings reports • Writers Guild of America • Hollywood writers' strike • Jeffrey Immelt

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