NEW YORK - General Electric (GE) says its fourth-quarter income increased 52% on strong growth in equipment orders. It also cites improvement in its lending business.
The industrial and financial giant on Friday reported net income of $4.46 billion, or 42 cents per share, for the final three months of the year. That compares with $2.94 billion, or 28 cents per share, for the same period in 2009.
The company says earnings from continuing operations were 36 cents a share. That tops analyst's expectations for earnings of 32 cents.
Its revenue increased 1% to $41.4 billion from a year ago. That beats Wall Street expectations for revenue of $40.3 billion.
Orders grew 12% year-over-year overall, including a 20% increase in equipment orders and a 5% expansion in services. Orders grew 4% at GE's energy infrastructure business, and the total company backlog increased to a record $175 billion.
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