GE earnings up 4% despite oil plunge

NEW YORK — General Electric Co. posted higher revenue and net income for the fourth quarter but was held back from even better results by a sputtering performance from its expanding oil and gas division.

The company calmed investors by maintaining its guidance for its 2015 profit, despite the low oil prices that are hurting its oil and gas operations and a stronger dollar that is hurting exports.

“Everybody’s been freaked out; everyone expected a big crumble on the guidance, but it didn’t happen,” said Nicholas Heyman, an analyst at William Blair.

On Friday, GE reported net income of $5.15 billion, up from $3.21 billion in the same quarter last year. Adjusting to remove the effect of one-time items, the company reported a 4 percent earnings gain, to $5.64 billion.

The company earned 51 cents per share, up from 32 cents a year ago. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 56 cents a share, a penny more than analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research expected, in average.

Revenue rose 4 percent to $42 billion in the period but fell short of the $42.4 billion expected by analysts, according to Zacks. GE shares rose 20 cents to close Friday at $24.48.