You’d have to be on another planet this morning to miss coverage of GE’s quarterly earnings, as journalists, analysts and investors all put the numbers under a magnifying glass. While the market and the press will have their takeaways, here are five things you might have missed in today’s news swirl that we think rate a closer look:
- GE Healthcare: As the company’s healthymagination business strategy tackles big health issues from the perspective of access, quality and cost, GE’s core medical equipment business is delivering a pounding pulse on the business side. Orders in the key markets of China and India were up over 20 percent and the unit’s total backlog of equipment orders grew 18 percent.
- Emerging and growth markets: Industrial revenues in India, where GE recently combined all of its businesses into one P&L as part of a new move to rapidly grow in the country, were up 54 percent vs. a year-ago. And in the key, resource-rich market of Australia, Industrial revenue was up 74 percent year-over-year.
- Services: Orders for services, a key area of focus for GE that allows the company’s industrial and technological expertise to be put to work for our customers, grew 4 percent in the quarter with particular strength in Transportation and Oil & Gas.
- GE Capital: Net income was more than five times greater vs. the same period last year, increasing to $871 million as the smaller, more focused financial unit continues to press into areas that play to its deep domain strengths — middle-market industrial and select consumer financing.
- Operating Margins: GE’s Industrial operating margins (excluding NBCU) improved even as the company increased R&D investment 21 percent year-to-date over same nine-month period in 2009. Robust spending on technology and innovation is a hallmark of GE’s business historically.
* Read today’s earnings announcement
* View materials from the October 15, 2010 earnings webcast
 Healthy outlook: Imaging units are being tested at GE Healthcare’s facility in China. |
