General Electric today reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit, as margin improvement across its industrial businesses offset revenue that came in below analysts' targets.
The US conglomerate posted a 4% rise in organic revenue, which excludes acquisitions, for its industrial manufacturing businesses, on which chief executive Jeff Immelt is increasingly focusing the company.
GE said such revenue was on track to hit the higher end of its projected range of 4-7% growth for 2014.
The company said its third-quarter net income rose to $3.54 billion, or 35 cents per share, from $3.19 billion, or 31 cents per share, a year earlier.
Revenue rose 1% to $36.17 billion, below the $36.79 billion that analysts expected.
GE's profit margin for its industrial businesses came in at 16.3%, expanding by 0.9 percentage points from a year earlier.
Like those of other diverse US manufacturers, GE's shares have underperformed the broader market this year after a big run in 2013.
