Industrial conglomerate General Electric Company today reported a 43 per cent fall in net earning to $2.5 billion in the third quarter of 2009, primarily hit by a steep decline in revenues from its finance arm.
In the year-ago period, the company's net earnings attributable to GE stood at $4.3 billion, General Electric said in a statement.
Revenues fell 20 per cent to $37.8 billion in the September quarter primarily due to decline in industrial organic sales.
"In a global economic environment that is beginning to slowly recover, GE delivered solid third-quarter business results. We continue to execute on our plan at Capital Finance, perform well in a slow-growth industrial environment and strengthen the balance sheet with strong cash generation," GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt said.
The company's finance arm, GE Capital Services (GECS) revenues declined 31 per cent to $12.7 billion.
"While it remains a tough environment for GE Capital, we are seeing signs of stabilisation," said Immelt, adding "every segment at GE Capital was profitable with the exception of Real Estate, which is experiencing a tough environment but where we believe the risks are well understood and manageable."
