So where are the jobs??? Outsourced of course...

G.E. Profit Up Despite ‘Volatile’ Economy

By CHRISTINE HAUSER

General Electric, the nation’s largest industrial company, on Friday reported net earnings for the third quarter of $3.2 billion, up 57 percent from the same period in 2010 despite what the chief executive called a “volatile” economic environment.

The company said it had operating earnings per share of 31 cents, exactly in line with expectations of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters. That excluded the $0.08 per share impact of its redemption of Berkshire Hathaway shares, which it subsequently redeemed this month for $3.3 billion. But the company said it expected that retiring the stock would improve annualized earnings per share by $0.03 in future quarters.

Revenue for the period from July through September, 2011, was $35.4 billion, which the company described as flat when compared with the third quarter of 2010. When the impact of the sale of NBC Universal to Comcast was excluded, the revenue for the quarter was up 12 percent.

Analysts had forecast $34.93 billion in revenue, according to a survey compiled by Thomson Reuters.

Jeffrey R. Immelt, G.E.’s chief executive, said that the company was pleased with the results, the sixth consecutive quarter of double digit growth in operating earnings, in what he called a "volatile macro environment."

"We ended the quarter with a record high order backlog of $191 billion and we remain confident in our full-year 2011 operating framework," he said in a statement.

The earnings report also provided another glimpse into the company’s progress in overhauling its business, which has a diverse range of products from jet engines to medical imaging machines. With its global reach, it also gives a snapshot into how business is faring not only in the United States but around the world.

The strongest industrial growth for large American manufacturers has recently come from abroad, accounting for more than half of industrial business in some cases. The outlook for industrial companies has been gradually improving, but in the past month the debt crisis in Europe has caused some concern about economic prospects.

Link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/22/business/ge-profit-up-despite-volatile-economy.html?_r=1