GE profit rises 49% in quarter; revenue up 3%

General Electric Co.’s transformation into a more simple industrial company seems to be helping its bottom line. Its revenue, though, is lagging slightly.

GE said Friday that its net income rose 49% in the third quarter to $3.49 billion, or 33 cents a share. On an adjusted basis, GE earned 36 cents a share, in line with analysts’ expectations and up 13% from a year earlier.

Revenue rose $1 billion, or 3%, to $36.35 billion. But analysts were looking for revenue of $36.95 billion, and GE shares fell 78 cents, or 3.4%, to $22.03.

GE, based in Fairfield, Conn., has returned to its roots as an industrial company. It manufactures such products as jet engines and refrigerators and provides equipment and services to a growing roster of energy companies.

Revenue from GE’s industrial division is now more than double that of its financial businesses. During the financial crisis, investors worried that its enormous banking arm, GE Capital, would fail. GE said Friday that its effort to reduce assets in GE Capital, a move applauded by investors, is ahead of schedule.

As a result, GE lowered its revenue forecast. It said GE Capital’s revenue will fall 10% this year, instead of 5%. Revenue for all of GE is now expected to rise 3% for the year — to $151 billion — instead of 5%.

The energy sector has been a big part of GE’s industrial push. GE has spent $11 billion buying companies such as those that help oil and gas companies find and produce fossil fuels, and manufacturers that make engines and turbines to burn those fuels.