GE Profits Jump 16% in Q413

GE Profits Jump 16% in Q413 (Bloomberg)

Led by increased demand for its subsidiaries’ jet engines and turbines, General Electric (GE) reported Q4 earnings rose 16 percent compared to the same quarter the previous year. Adjusted profit for the quarter rose to $5.42 billion (53 cents per share) from $4.66 billion (44 cents per share) for the prior year’s fourth quarter. Analysts had estimated that GE would be earning 53 cents per share — which makes the company slightly more accurate than weathermen in making predictions. On tap for 2014, CEO Jeffrey Immelt will expand profit margins at GE’s industrial locations while attempting to shrink its lending business through an initial public offering later in the year. In summing up his company’s fourth quarter performance, Immelt said, “GE ended the year with strong fourth-quarter earnings and margin growth in an improving but mixed environment.”