Fourth-quarter earnings

were a record $5.378 billion, up 18% from $4.560 billion in fourth quarter 2003. Earnings per share (EPS) were $.51, up 13% from last year's $.45. Nine of GE's 11 businesses - Advanced Materials, Commercial Finance, Consumer Finance, Consumer & Industrial, Equipment & Other Services, Healthcare, Infrastructure, NBC Universal and Transportation - contributed double-digit earnings growth. Earnings of the Insurance segment declined as a result of increases in loss reserves for policies written in prior years and the disposition of several businesses.

Fourth-quarter revenues

were a record $43.7 billion, up 18% over $37.0 billion in fourth quarter 2003. Industrial sales increased 19% to $24.6 billion, reflecting the impact of acquisitions, solid core growth and lower sales at GE Energy. Financial services revenues rose 16% over last year to $19.2 billion.

Full-year 2004 earnings

were a record $16.6 billion, up 6% from $15.6 billion before required accounting changes in 2003, with EPS of $1.59 up 3% from last year's comparable $1.55. Nine of GE's 11 businesses contributed at least double-digit earnings growth for the year. Net earnings for 2004 of $16.6 billion were 11% higher than $15.0 billion in 2003, which reflected charges of $587 million ($.06 per share) for the cumulative effects of required accounting changes to consolidate special purpose entities and to record asset retirement obligations. Net 2004 EPS of $1.59 were up 7% from $1.49 last year.

Full-year revenues

grew 14% to $152.4 billion. Industrial sales rose 17% to $82.2 billion, reflecting the impact of acquisitions, solid core growth and lower sales at GE Energy. Financial services revenues increased 10% to $70.8 billion, including the effects of exiting certain Insurance businesses.

Cash

generated from GE's operating activities in 2004 totaled $15.2 billion, up 18% from $12.9 billion last year, reflecting a 27% increase in CFOA from industrial businesses and lower GE Capital Services dividends, due principally to lower proceeds from business dispositions.

Received $3.6 billion of new aircraft engine services contracts from customers including Ryanair, Emirates and Alaska Airlines, and locomotive services agreements worth more than $0.4 billion, including the first GE Evolution Series^TM services contracts.

Received commercial aircraft engine orders totaling $0.6 billion from customers including Embraer, Bombardier and Lufthansa.

Received $1.1 billion in Rail orders, including orders for 231 locomotives, of which 140 are GE Evolution Series locomotives, and the first order from the China Ministry of Rail in more than 19 years, for locomotives, parts, signaling and train control systems.

Completed more than 4.5 million miles of cumulative active field service for Evolution Series pre-production units, with availability at 97%; completed preparations and commenced full commercial production in January 2005, with a backlog of more than 1,200 units for multi-year delivery.

Launched the Engine Exchange program for the CFM56-3 aircraft engine under which Transportation provides "loaner" engines to customers while servicing their own.

Completed the first site implementation, at Norfolk Southern Railroad, of Rail?s Precision Dispatch System, which improves on-time performance and enables more efficient use of a railroad's assets.

Increased total orders 25% over fourth quarter 2003 to $4.4 billion, driven by 9% growth in services, 15% growth in ultrasound and $0.8 billion in Biosciences.

Received strong orders for new products, including the Volume CT (computed tomography) scanner, the 3T MR (magnetic resonance) scanner, and the Vivid I^TM portable ultrasound.

Signed a $200 million-plus agreement in the U.K. with Fujitsu Services Ltd., to provide Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) technology that will enable the conversion of hospitals and clinics to a new digital system for storing, retrieving and displaying patients? medical images.

Launched HDMR, the world's first high-definition magnetic resonance (MR) system, which provides unprecedented image clarity for patients such as Parkinson's sufferers.

Received FDA approval for InSightec's ExAblate 2000, which combines GE's MR imaging with focused ultrasound to provide non-invasive treatment of uterine fibroids (GE is an equity shareholder in InSightec).

Launched LOGIQBook XP, a 10-lb., full-featured, easy-to-use ultrasound system with advanced connectivity that enables clinicians to scan patients virtually anywhere -- even in trauma and surgical settings.

Signed new contractual service agreements totaling $1.1 billion, increasing the number of gas turbines covered by 8% and the number of sites by 4% since the end of 2003.

Increased orders for oil and gas equipment 34% to $1.5 billion, including a $95 million contract for turbines, generator and compressor equipment for the latest expansion of the RasGas (II) facility owned by Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company Ltd. in the State of Qatar.

Shipped 316 wind turbines in the quarter and received orders for 1,243 1.5-megawatt wind turbines, including the final 100 of a 207-turbine order from MidAmerican Energy Company for its 310.5-megawatt project in Iowa that, when completed this year, will be among the world's largest wind generation facilities.

Signed a letter of intent with Calpine Corporation for the joint construction of a power plant based on the 60-Hz H System^TM, GE's most advanced gas turbine technology.

Signed a letter of intent with Cinergy/PSI and Bechtel Corporation to study the feasibility of constructing a commercial Cleaner Coal^TM generating station.

Received global equipment orders to supply a 1,135-megawatt combined-cycle power plant in Mexico, the first installation of GE's advanced gas turbine technology in Egypt, and hydroelectric equipment for three facilities in China.

Shipped 28 heavy-duty gas turbines from Greenville, S.C., and Belfort, France in the quarter compared with 35 in fourth quarter 2003.

Expanded its transportation finance capabilities with an agreement to acquire $4.2 billion in assets from CitiCapital's Transportation Financial Services Group, serving about 49,000 customers across the U.S. and Canada and financing approximately 196,000 heavy- and medium-duty commercial trucks and trailers.

Through CCE Holdings, a joint venture with Southern Union, completed the $2.4 billion acquisition of CrossCountry Energy, the holding company formed from Enron's remaining U.S. gas pipelines.

Completed a global vendor financing agreement with Eastman Kodak Company's Health Imaging Group, through which the manufacturer will offer its customers a full range of GE equipment financing options, including operating and capital leases, loans and customized financing programs.

Signed an agreement for the restructuring of NMB-Heller, its working-capital finance joint venture with ING, under which Commercial Finance will buy ING's 50% stake in Heller GmbH, NMB-Heller's German unit, broadening its range of financing solutions for German customers and increasing its presence in that country.

Completed the acquisition of Australian Financial Investments Group (including the Wizard Home Loans brand and distribution network), strengthening GE's presence in the Australian mortgage industry.

Completed the purchase of substantially all the assets of Dillard's National Bank, including its private label credit card business, comprising the sixth-largest in-house private label credit card program in the United States and adding 5.5 million active card members to Consumer Finance's customer base.

Teamed with SAM'S CLUB to launch the new Business All-In-One Card for SAM'S CLUB Business Members and Business Plus Members throughout the United States.

Launched Kawasaki Motors Retail Finance with Canadian Kawasaki Motors, which will allow Kawasaki dealers in Canada to offer consumers special credit promotions and long-term financing for motorcycles, ATVs, utility vehicles and personal watercraft.

Signed a multi-year agreement to extend its retail credit card program with The Men's Wearhouse, representing nearly 700,000 cardholders.

Garnered a domestic box office total of $225 million in the first four weeks of theatrical release with Universal Pictures' Meet the Fockers, surpassing the entire box office gross of its predecessor, Meet the Parents, by 40%.

Generated $72 million at the domestic box office for Ray, which received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Picture and the Golden Globe award for Best Actor.

Launched Joey, the quarter's top-ranking new comedy in the key demographic of adults 18-49; continued NBC's late-night leadership, with Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien leading their respective competitors among adults 18-49 by 25% and 57% respectively.

Completed the year with Bravo ranking as the basic cable entertainment network with the highest concentration of affluent viewers, and with Telemundo ranking as the fastest-growing network for U.S. Hispanics in primetime among adults 18-49.

Shipped 70 million DVDs and VHS units in the quarter, led by the strength of Van Helsing, The Chronicles of Riddick and The Bourne Supremacy.

Launched NBC Weather Plus, the nation's first all-digital broadcast network, which provides local weather, news and information around the clock.

Announced two strategic acquisitions -- Ionics, a global leader in desalination, and Edwards Systems Technology's fire detection systems business -- and completed a third, InVision Technologies, positioning Infrastructure for growth in the water and security industries.

Received certification from the U.S. Transportation Security Administration of its X-ray diffraction (XRD) system for identifying the chemical signatures of explosives on passenger-checked baggage, the first new technology certified by the TSA since 1994.

Successfully completed commercial testing for its tamper-evident sea container cargo-security system, which uses RFID (radio frequency identification) wireless technology embedded in a container's walls to determine if it has been breached during transport.

Announced a strategic partnership with China Telecom, the leading company in the world?s largest telecommunications market, to create a new generation of advanced home security technology that will allow residents of China to communicate with their homes through the Internet and cellular phones.

Announced with Goodyear the new Assurance® tire, with all-weather performance characteristics based on GE's NXT^TM silane, a liquid coupling agent developed by GE scientists.

Introduced AZDEL^TM Rail-Lite^TM, a breakthrough flame-retardant, high-strength composite material using GE's advanced Ultem^TM resin, and announced a joint development agreement with China Railway Long Dragon New Composite Materials Co., Ltd. to co-develop AZDEL-based components for passenger train interiors as part of China's refurbishing of its national railway system for the 2008 Olympics.

Drove higher sales in the quarter with leadership from new Profile® appliance launches, energy-saving Ultra^TM fluorescent lamps, new Ultramax^TM and ProLine^TM electronic ballast products, improved market penetration by Reveal® light bulbs and the global strength of industrial product sales.

Completed the disposition of its Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning/Refrigeration Motor and Capacitor operations to Regal-Beloit Corporation for $380 million.