GE Sees Profitable Future on Rebounding Industrials, NBC Universal Sale

General Electric (NYSE:GE) said it sees stronger profits in coming years as industrials rebound and it closes on its NBC Universal sale to Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA).

While the behemoth left its fourth-quarter outlook unchanged, it sees industrial growth returning next year, helped by a 5% gain in the unit’s revenue.

Total sales in 2011 are expected to remain flat to up 5%, with a positive 13-cent impact from pensions on its earnings. GE plans to start reporting operating earnings in an effort to strip out rising costs of pensions.

At its annual outlook meeting Tuesday in New York, GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt said “things are looking up,” for the company, which seeks to launch opportunistic stock buybacks in an effort to retire debt, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

Immelt said the company would deliver “good earnings in '10, '11 and '12,” with acceleration accumulating in the final year, according to the report.