LONDON (ShareCast) - General Electric (GE) posted a 0.9 per cent rise in second quarter earnings that beat estimates on Friday.

The world’s largest jet engine manufacturer posted a profit of $3.13bn, or $0.30 a share, compared to $3.11bn, or $0.29 a share, a year ago.

The company attributed the hike in profits to lower costs and higher orders for its industrial machinery across the portfolio.

Revenue, however, fell 4.0% year-on-year to $35.1bn, missing analysts’ expectations of $35.56bn.

GE’s operating earnings, which exclude pension costs, dropped to $0.36 from $0.38.

It was mitigated by a reduction in structural costs and growth in six of seven of the firm’s industrial-segment businesses during the quarter.

We executed in a business environment that was slightly improved versus the first quarter," Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt said. "Emerging markets remain resilient, and in the US we saw strong growth in orders this quarter."

Looking to the second half of the year, Immelt expects margin expansion to continue and segment profits to expand.

Shares jumped 0.38% to $23.63 in early morning New York trading.

RD

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