General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) managed to turn in earnings growth of 7.5% in its fourth-quarter earnings report. The actual earnings were $4.01 billion, or $0.38 per share, but adjusted earnings came to $0.44 per share. The conglomerate’s revenue rose by 4% to $39.3 billion in the quarter. Thomson Reuters had a consensus estimate of $0.43 per share on revenue of about $38.7 billion.

GE has said that the outlook is still uncertain in developed markets, while it is still seeing growth in China and other resource rich markets. GE Capital, its unit which had been a drag for years, now showed that its Tier 1 common ratio was 10.2%, and the company aims to continue receiving significant cash returned to the parent company. Other highlights were as follows:

• Double-digit earnings growth for five of seven industrial segments.
• Orders up 7% ex-Wind and ex-currency with growth region orders up 12%.
• Backlog of equipment and services hit a record of $210 billion.
• Repurchase of $2.1 billion of stock during the fourth quarter.

We are still awaiting more guidance, and the estimates from Thomson Reuters are as follows: Q1 2013: $0.36 earnings per share and $35.46 billion in revenue; FY 2013: $1.67 per share and $149.7 billion in revenue.

GE shares closed at $21.30 on Thursday, and shares are indicated up around $21.80 so far in early bird trading. The 52-week trading range is $18.02 to $23.18m and the consensus analyst price target from Thomson Reuters was $24.71 without the effect of any analyst changes after this report.

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