GE’s Profit, Revenue Jump on Acquisitions

General Electric Co.’s third-quarter earnings rose 11% and revenue jumped nearly 15% as a rebounding economy and acquisitions drove a sharp increase in orders, the company said Friday.

The industrial, financial services and media conglomerate said it earned $4.05 billion, or 38 cents a share, in the July-to-September period, up from $3.65 billion, or 36 cents, a year earlier.

The results matched the consensus estimate of 38 cents a share from analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call.

“The economy we see continues to be very strong, with our total orders for the quarter up 27%,” said Jeffrey Immelt, GE’s chairman and chief executive. “Eight of our 11 businesses delivered at least double-digit earnings growth with continued strong performance on cash flow from operating activities.”

Revenue for the quarter was $38.3 billion, up from $33.4 billion a year earlier.

Profit jumped 24% to $536 million at the NBC Universal division on strong ratings for the Summer Olympics.

Shares of GE, based in Fairfield, Conn., fell 21 cents to $33.74 on the New York Stock Exchange.