GE Q3 Profit Falls 22 Percent, Meets Revised Estimates

New York, NY (AHN) - General Electric announced Friday third quarter earnings fell 22 percent as gains in its energy and cable businesses was more than offset by declines in the consumer and industrial unit.

The conglomerate posted third quarter earnings of $4.31 billion or 43 cents a share, compared to $5.5 billion or 54 cents a share in the same period a year earlier. Revenue grew 11 percent to $47.23 billion.

"The performance we announced this morning is completely in line with what we talked about at the September 25th announcement," said Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt on the earnings conference call.

GE's consumer and industrial unit, which makes household appliances, saw profit fall 82 percent in the third quarter. The company has explored selling the unit or possibly spinning it off.

The company's financing arm, GE Capital also saw profits fall to the tune of 33 percent as the unit added to its loan loss reserves.

GE's NBC Universal continued its growth for an eighth consecutive quarter, up 10 percent in the third quarter. Also strong, the energy infrastructure unit saw profits rise 31 percent in the quarter to $1.4 billion.

The company still expects to meet full year 2008 earnings estimates of roughly $20 billion. Shares of GE rose 13.1 percent on the news, closing at $21.50 a share on Friday.