BY MIKE BOYER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Fueled by continued strong performance by its Evendale-based jet engine business, General Electric Co. on Wednesday reported record first quarter earnings and revenues.
For the quarter ended in March, the Fairfield, Conn.-based conglomerate, which also owns NBC and GE Capital, reported a 13 percent increase net earnings to $1.89 billion, or 57 cents a share, vs. $1.68 billion, or 50 cents a share last year.
The results didn't boost GE's stock which closed down $1 at $86.50 on Wednesday.
GE, which will hold its annual shareholders' meeting in Cincinnati on April 22, doesn't provide breakdowns on the performance of its various businesses but said GE Aircraft Engines won more than 50 percent of the large commercial engine orders announced in the first quarter.
In a conference call, Jeffrey Sprague, analyst with Salomon Smith Barney, estimated GEAE's first quarter sales were 60 percent to 70 percent higher than last year's and operating earnings were up 40 percent to 50
"Aircraft engines continues to lead this thing," he said. "They really have a robust year teed up."
Mr. Sprague said GEAE delivered 425 engines in the first quarter vs. 306 in the year-ago period.
He said GEAE's performance was bolstered by its growing GE Engine Services unit, which is expanding its maintenance and repair work on engines made by GE and rival manufacturers.
GE Engine Services revenue was up 100 percent over last year because of its acquisition of Greenwich Air Services and UNC, he said.
Overall, Mr. Sprague said, "the quality and composition of GE's results were a tad better than I expected."
Mr. Sprague said GE Lighting was the only one of GE's 12 businesses that didn't post year-over-year gains.
Operating profit margins, a measure of efficiency, were 15.1 percent of sales, up from 14.3 percent last year, and exceeded Mr. Sprague's estimate of 14.8 percent, he said.
"They're on track for 16 percent for the full year," he said. GE did disclose that that GE Capital's first-quarter earnings rose 17 percent to $881 million from $754 million last year.
Specialty insurance, equipment leasing and management, and financing for midsize companies led the increase, GE said.
NBC, which broadcasts such top-rated shows as Seinfeld and ER, also benefited from the January telecast of the Super Bowl, the U.S. pro football championship. No. 1-rated NBC's pretax profit rose as much as 20 percent, analysts said.
