General Electric, the largest US industrial group by market capitalisation, has been lifted by strong growth in emerging markets, offsetting sluggish demand in its traditional base in developed economies.
The company said it was benefiting from strong increases in revenues and orders from emerging economies including resource-rich countries and China, as it reported underlying earnings per share of 44 cents for the fourth quarter of last year, up 13 per cent from the equivalent period of 2011 and slightly ahead of the average of analysts’ expectations of 43 cents.
In line with GE’s planned shift from financial services towards manufacturing, GE Capital, the finance division, reported a 6 per cent drop in revenue to $46 billion (€35 billion) for the full-year 2012, while industrial revenue rose 4 per cent to $111 billion.
Emerging economies and other high-growth markets were responsible for much of that increase, with sales to China up 19 per cent, Latin America up 22 per cent and Russia up 23 per cent. GE chief financial officer Keith Sherin said: “This is where the growth is. We are shifting our centre of gravity to emerging markets.”
GE’s growth in China had slowed sharply in the fourth quarter, he added, but had picked up in December. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2013)
