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geGeneral Electric Co. posted second- quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates, buoyed by its finance unit, as the industrial order backlog rose to a record. Profit from continuing operations climbed 18 percent to $3.73 billion, or 34 cents a share, from $3.15 billion or 29 cents, excluding pension costs, Fairfield, Connecticut-based GE said today in a statement. That exceeded the 33-cent average of 13 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt has said losses have peaked at GE Capital, and the unit is writing more profitable loans. The gains helped offset narrower profit margins at GE Energy.


The company’s total backlog, a measure of future industrial growth, rose 6.8 percent to a record $189 billion. “Investors want to see the industrial side, the higher multiple side of GE’s business, come back and on a sustainable basis returned to the dominant portion of the company,” Nicholas Heymann, a New York-based analyst with William Blair & Co., said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “The fact that orders were up gives people encouragement.” Equipment orders gained 33 percent as GE introduces more efficient wind and gas turbines, and service orders climbed 16 percent. Infrastructure orders increased 24 percent. The shares rose 33 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $19.49 at 9:31 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. They gained 4.8 percent this year through yesterday, trailing a 6.9 percent advance in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. ‘Growth Prospects’ Revenue of $35.6 billion topped analysts’ estimates of $34.7 billion after a majority of the NBC Universal media division was sold in January. Including a pension cost of $181 million, profit attributable to the company was $3.76 billion, or 33 cents a share. This was the second quarter in which GE broke out per- share pension costs or benefits. “We’re going to see solid double-digit operating earnings growth for the year, and we’re confident in our total-year framework for both earnings” and cash flow from operations, Immelt said on an earnings conference call. “We see momentum building for 2012.”

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