General Electric reports 16% profits rise for Q1 2013 after selling NBC Universal stake

General Electric has reported a 16% rise in its profits for the first quarter of 2013, helped by a one-off gain from the sale of its stake in NBC Universal.

GE made a profit of $3.53 billion in Q1 2013, up from $3.03 billion last year. Revenue was flat at $35 billion.

The conglomerate has been trying to put its focus back on core industrial businesses, which include aviation and energy infrastructure.

General Electric said orders for its aviation equipment jumped 47%.

Orders for oil and gas equipment and services, such as turbines and plant maintenance, rose 24%, said GE chairman and chief executive Jeff Immelt.

“In growth markets, equipment and service orders grew 17%. We ended the quarter with our biggest backlog in history,” he said.

Orders grew to $216 billion in the first quarter from $210 billion in the fourth quarter of 2012.

In the first three months of 2013 GE was awarded a $620 million maintenance contract for QGC’s Queensland Curtis liquified natural gas plant off the east coast of Australia.

It also won a contract to provide power equipment for the Emirates Aluminum smelter complex in Abu Dhabi, and another maintenance contract for a LNG project in Russia.

But the company said it had been affected by weaker-than-expected sales in Europe, especially in sales of power and water equipment.

“GE’s markets were mixed. The US and growth markets were in line with expectations. We planned for a continued challenging environment in Europe, but conditions weakened further with Industrial segment revenues in the region down 17%,” said Jeff Immelt.

“We always anticipated that the first half of 2013 would be our toughest comparison,” he added.

During the first quarter of 2013, GE sold its 49% stake in NBC Universal to Comcast for $18.1 billion.