Business briefs: Third-quarter profits for GE fall 44 percent
Published 5:21 pm Thursday, October 14, 2010
General Electric’s third-quarter results showed just how fragile the U.S. economy remains, as its troubled financial unit dragged down earnings 44 percent, despite gains in divisions that make wind turbines, household appliances and broadcast television shows. The report from one of the nation’s largest companies illustrates the damage from a severe recession that has only recently begun to ease, leaving consumers and businesses devastated by high rates of defaults in everything from credit cards to mortgages. CEO Jeffrey Immelt described the environment as “tough” but said the global economy is slowly recovering. General Electric Co.’s total quarterly profit fell to $2.4 billion, or 23 cents per share, hurt sharply lower earnings at its GE Capital arm, which loans money for businesses ranging from credit cards to shopping centers. A year earlier, the Fairfield, Conn.-based company earned $4.3 billion, or 43 cents a share.
Boeing officials say 787 repairs on track
Repairs to the Boeing Co.’s new 787 jet are going well and the Dreamliner should go for it’s first test flight by the end of the year, said Scott Fancher, general manager of the program. Fancher said the company’s modifications to the jet to repair some stress fractures are going well. “We are pleased with the progress we are making on this important effort,” he said in a news release. The 787 program is more than two years late after several announced delays, the most recent because of stress cracks to the plane’s fuselage .
BofA loan losses continue to rise
Bank of America Corp. said Friday it lost more than $2.2 billion in the third quarter as loan losses kept rising, providing more evidence that consumers are still struggling to pay their bills. The nation’s second-largest bank said it wrote down loans on its books by almost $10 billion during the July-September period, up almost $1 billion from the second quarter. The bank also added $2.1 billion to its reserves to cover bad loans, bringing its provision for credit losses to $11.7 billion. The bank’s allowance for loan losses now totals $35.83 billion.
Cost-cutting helps earnings for Mattel
Mattel Inc., the largest U.S. toymaker, said Friday that cost-cutting, price increases that have stuck and low inventory helped its third-quarter profit fall just 3 percent despite a steeper drop in sales. Investors applauded the company’s focus and sent shares up 5 percent, briefly touching a 52-week high. The maker of Hot Wheels and American Girl dolls reported fiscal third-quarter profit slipped 3.5 percent to $229.8 million, or 63 cents per share, matching analyst expectations. The stronger dollar, which results in overseas sales translating back into fewer dollars, hurt results by about 10 cents per share. Sales fell 8 percent to $1.79 billion, as demand waned for Barbie and higher-priced Fisher-Price toys such as PowerWheels.
From Herald staff and news services
