General Electric Affirms Guidance

General Electric(GE Quote) joined the ranks of companies Wednesday that won't have to use the war as an excuse for poor earnings performance -- at least not now.

The conglomerate reportedly affirmed earnings projections for the quarter and year, citing solid sales of power systems -- something analysts have long been warning the company would have to stop counting on. The outlook was delivered by GE's chief financial officer at an investor conference and reported by wire services.

The shares were recently up about $1 to $27.14.

Several other companies have recently been able to avoid lowering guidance despite the war. Coca-Cola Enterprises(CCE Quote), Jack in the Box(JBX Quote) and Biogen(BGEN Quote) all said existing guidance was accurate or too low Wednesday.

GE still expects to earn 32 cents a share in the first quarter and $1.55 to $1.70 a share for 2003.