INSTANT VIEW: GE reports disappointing results

NEW YORK (Reuters) - General Electric Co announced disappointing quarterly results on Friday, driving U.S. stock market futures lower, as tough credit market conditions hit its financial, industrial and healthcare units.

Shares of the second-largest U.S. company by market capitalization, which also has media and finance arms, sank more than 10 percent in pre-market trading as the company lowered its full-year earnings forecast.

GE said earnings from continuing operations fell 12 percent to $4.4 billion, or 44 cents per share, compared with estimates of 51 cents per share.

KEY POINTS: * Continuing earnings per share of 44 cents per share, down 8 percent; continuing earnings of $4.4 billion, down 12 percent * Net EPS of 43 cents, down 2 percent; net earnings of $4.3 billion, down 6 percent. * Lowering EPS guidance for full year 2008 to $2.20 - 2.30, up 0-5 percent from 2007. * Revenues of $42.2 billion, up 8 percent; Global revenue growth of 22 percent. * Industrial organic revenue growth of 5 percent; financial services organic revenue decline of 8 percent

JAMES HARDESTY, PRESIDENT, HARDESTY CAPITAL MANAGEMENT IN BALTIMORE:

"The problem was clearly the financial area. It was the worst hit. They did not escape the March massacre. Although they've been curtailing their exposure in the financial services for several years but they didn't not get close enough to shore and they go caught in the storm.

"It says to me the U.S. economy is not performing as they expected. Their overseas operations delivered good results across the board. Also disappointing was the Medical. They've been putting emphasis in there, so that's a disappointment for me, it's not delivered, when they've had a favorable economic backdrop.

"They should have been plus 17 percent, not minus 17 percent. 44 cents was a considerably off the bottom of my chart. But if we can get through the quarter and we can revalidate 8 percent as the organic growth rate as outlined in 2007 annual report, then the stock should perform pretty well and Mr. Immelt has been a reasonably astute buyer of his own stock."

MIKE GANDRUD, SENIOR ANALYST, OPTIQUE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT:

"Oh boy. A little disappointing, but given what's happening in the financial markets, we should not be all that surprised by it.

"I thought they'd be doing better on the industrial and infrastructure side of things, thought that'd have been enough to get over the hump. The things we're hearing, talking to folks on the manufacturing side, they're already taking action in response to this.

"Healthcare is a little weaker than I expected it to be, and I continue to have concerns about NBC Universal and its fit in the overall portfolio.

"They have a decent balance sheet, cashflow generation are all still solid just as not much upside as we'd have hoped.

"At 3 percent (stock drop), we'll probably hold tight, more (than that) we'll add. it's a fundamentally well-run company with good upside if we just get through this economic cycle.

PHILIPPE GIJSELS, SENIOR EQUITY STRATEGIST AT FORTIS BANK, BRUSSELS

"The earnings season is off to a bad start, you get earnings that are way below estimates and GE's a complicated story -- one side of it is financial and the other side is industrial so it's a good benchmark for the U.S. economy. That's why (European) equity markets are reacting negatively, but I don't think this comes really as a surprise."