NEW YORK, Oct 12: General Electric, the conglomerate seen as a microcosm of the US economy, reported on Friday a healthy 14 per cent jump in third-quarter earnings, shaking off woes from the housing slump and credit squeeze.

The net profit of $5.54 billion was lifted in part by the sale of GE’s plastics division to a Saudi Arabian group earlier this year.

The diversified conglomerate that produces jet engines, locomotives, water treatment plants and medical equipment, has a major finance arm and controls the media-entertainment giant NBC Universal, met Wall Street expectations with a profit per share of 50 cents excluding one-time gains and losses.

Revenues for the July-Sept quarter rose 12pc to $42.53bon.

GE said it achieved its eleventh straight quarter of revenue growth of two to three times global economic growth.

“GE delivered a solid quarter in spite of extreme volatility in the financial services market and some one-time items in our industrial businesses,” chairman and chief executive Jeff Immelt said.—AFP