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GE posts record 3Q profit
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October 11, 2000: 10:37 a.m. ET
Firm meets estimates with broad growth, is comfortable with forecast for year
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - General Electric Co. Wednesday reported record third-quarter earnings that met forecasts, and said it expects to meet analysts' estimates for the year.
The Fairfield, Conn.-based conglomerate earned $3.18 billion, or 32 cents a diluted share, in line with First Call's forecast. The profit is up 20 percent from the $2.65 billion, or 27 cents a diluted share, in the year-earlier period.
Revenue rose 18 percent to $32.0 billion from $27.2 billion a year earlier.
 The company said it is comfortable with the First Call analysts' consensus estimate of $1.27 per share for 2000. Given year-to-date earnings, meeting the full-year forecast would mean hitting the 36-cent-a-share estimate of First Call in the fourth quarter.
Still, there were signs investors were disappointed by GE's report, since it was the first time since the first quarter of 1999 that it merely met estimates. In the five quarters since, it has beaten forecasts by 1 cent a share each time.
Shares of GE (GE: Research, Estimates), a component of the Dow Jones industrial average, fell $1.44 to $56.63 in morning trading Tuesday.
The company's statement indicated it was pleased with the results.
"The record results for the third quarter once again demonstrate the ability of GE's diverse mix of leading global businesses to deliver top-line growth, increased margins and strong cash generation," said Jack Welch, the company's respected chief executive, who turns 65 next month and is expected to retire next spring.
The company saw profits rise at least 10 percent in every segment other than industrial products and systems, in which they edged up 1 percent.
The NBC television network's profits rose 10 percent despite disappointing ratings for its coverage of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, during the last two weeks of the quarter. The ratings were off 21 percent from the 1988 Games in Seoul, South Korea, and down 35 percent from the 1996 Atlanta Games.
However, GE still termed the Olympics coverage a success, saying it boosted ratings of the "Today" show by 25 percent, cable network CNBC by 88 percent and MSNBC by 181 percent.
"I'd say that they did fairly well," said Martin Sankey, analyst with Goldman Sachs. "The Olympics from a financial point of view did better than they had expected. What they did (to compensate for poor ratings) was put on more commercials as opposed to displacing other paid spots."
Financial services, the company's largest unit, saw revenue rise 17 percent to $16.4 billion, while profits rose 17 percent to $1.48 billion. But faster growth in some other segments -- notably power systems, technical products and plastics -- lowered financial services' contribution to the company's earnings mix to 31.8 percent from 33.3 percent a year earlier.
For the first three quarters, the company recorded net income of $9.15 billion, or 91 cents a diluted share, up 20 percent from the $7.63 billion, or 76 cents a diluted share, a year earlier. Year-to-date revenue gained 22 percent to $62.9 billion. 
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