General Electric reported an 80% surge in first quarter profit, driven by a sharp improvement at its finance arm and rising earnings at its units that make jet engines and locomotives.
The largest US conglomerate said its first-quarter earnings attributable to common shareowners came to $3.36 billion, or 31 cents a share, up from $1.87 billion or 17 cents a share, a year earlier.
Revenue increased 6% to $38.45 billion. Earnings per share were better than expected, though revenue was slightly short of analysts' targets.
GE Capital, the company's lending business, continued to recover from the financial crisis, with profits more than tripling profits to $1.8 billion in the quarter. GE's transport, healthcare, aviation, and home and business solutions businesses also posted increased earnings.
