GE Posts 13% Rise in Earnings for 2nd Quarter
General Electric Co. on Thursday said its second-quarter earnings rose 13% to a record, led by profits at GE Capital Services, the NBC network and GE’s aircraft engine business.
Net income rose to $2.16 billion, or 66 cents a share, from $1.91 billion, or 58 cents a share, a year ago after adjusting for a 2-for-1 stock split in April. The profit was in line with analyst expectations.
Pretax profits at nine of GE’s 12 businesses rose more than 10% partly because of improved productivity under its Six Sigma program, which rewards workers for flawless products.
Chairman Jack Welch is pushing managers to cut costs and reduce product defects as he prepares to step down in 2000.
Fairfield, Conn.-based GE’s shares, which have more than tripled in five years, rose $1.06 to close at $69.50 on the New York Stock Exchange.
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H.F. Ahmanson & Co. said second-quarter earnings rose 37% on the strength of better loan quality, reduced costs and more customer fees.
Second-quarter profit from operations rose to $94.3 million, or 87 cents a share, from $68.7 million, or 50 cents, in the same period last year. The results beat the average estimate of 78 cents a primary share, according to a survey of analysts.
Irwindale-based Ahmanson, parent of Home Savings of America, gained 31 cents to close at $46.25 on the NYSE.
Analyst David Dusenbury of Credit Suisse First Boston said he was impressed that the positive surprise wasn’t attributable to a one-time event.
“The company blew away the estimates from their core earnings,” he said. “It’s got to be a very bullish sign for the California economy.”
The results exclude an after-tax gain of $24.6 million for the sale of Florida branches. The thrift also had $3.2 million in after-tax expenses, or 3 cents a share, related to its failed takeover bid for Great Western Financial Corp. Great Western was acquired by Washington Mutual Inc. last month.
Ahmanson’s net income, including these items, rose 68% to $115.7 million, or $1.09 a primary share.
At a Glance:
J.P. Morgan & Co. said second-quarter earnings fell 15%, driven down by lower revenue from bond trading, though its shares were buoyed by the strength of investment banking revenue. The nation’s fifth-largest banking company said net income fell to $374 million, or $1.85 a share, from $440 million, or $2.14, a year ago. The profit met analysts’ forecasts.
Fannie Mae said second-quarter earnings rose 12.7% as income from the company’s portfolio of home mortgages grew. The largest buyer of U.S. mortgages said it earned $752.7 million, or 69 cents a share, up from $667.8 million, or 61 cents, a year earlier.
Marriott International Inc. said second-quarter earnings rose 11% to $83 million, or 61 cents a share, compared with $75 million, or 55 cents a share, in the comparable period a year ago.
Amazon.com Inc. reported a narrower-than-expected loss in the fiscal second quarter of $6.7 million, or 28 cents a share, compared with a loss of $767,000, or 3 cents, in the year-earlier period. The company went public in May.
Georgia-Pacific Corp. reported a 51% drop in second-quarter earnings to $27 million, or 30 cents a share, from $55 million, or 61 cents, in the year-earlier period.
First Bank System Inc. said second-quarter earnings rose 6.7% to $178.3 million, or $1.32 a share, from $167.1 million, or $1.17, in the same period last year. The year-ago results excluded one-time gains of $140 million from abandoning its pursuit of First Interstate Bancorp and from tax gains.
