In a reflection of the tough economic conditions faced by the corporates, industrial conglomerate General Electric has reported a 44 per cent plunge in profit for the fourth quarter of 2008.
A steep profit decline in the company's capital finance segment in the wake of raging economic turmoil pulled down the bottomline.
The firm has posted a fourth quarter profit of $3.72 billion, plummeting 44 per cent as against the year-ago period, GE said in a statement.
It had a profit of $6.69 billion in the corresponding period a year ago.
General Electric's capital finance segment witnessed a 67 per cent drop in profits to $1.03 billion. In the year-ago period, the unit raked in profits to the tune of $3.16 billion.
For the fourth quarter, the entity's revenues dipped to $46.21 billion as compared to $48.53 billion in the same period a year ago.
"In a very tough environment, we delivered fourth quarter business results in line with expectations we provided in December," General Electric Chairman and Chief Executive Jeff Immelt said.
He noted that profit in the energy infrastructure grew 11 per cent on the back of continued global demand.
"We run the company to have a Triple-A credit rating, and we have significantly strengthened our liquidity position," Immelt said.
Pointing out that the company expects "2009 to be extremely difficult", Immelt said that General Electric has taken strong actions including strengthening cash flow and liquidity, managing costs, taking restructuring charges and protecting revenue, among others.
