Fairfield, Conn. — With Profile major appliance product launches helping lead the way — driving higher fourth-quarter sales — the consumer and industrial segment at GE posted a 9 percent increase in revenue during the three months, coming in at $3.8 billion, up from a year-ago $3.5 billion.

GE’s consumer and industrial business, which includes majaps, recorded a 32 percent profit increase in the three months, ended Dec. 31, rising to $200 million, compared with a year-earlier $152 million.

For the 12 months, the consumer and industrial segment logged $13.8 billion in sales, up 7 percent, from the $12.8 billion reported in 2003. Segment profit for the 12 months jumped 24 percent, to $716 million, from $577 million.

Acquisitions and solid core growth pushed up consolidated GE sales in the fourth quarter by 18 percent, hitting $43.7 billion, compared with a year-ago $37 billion. Nine of 11 business segments delivered double-digit earnings growth in the three months, boosting consolidated net income by 18 percent, to $5.4 billion, from $4.6 billion in the fourth quarter of last year.

For the 12 months, consolidated GE revenue grew 14 percent, reaching $152.4 billion, up from $134.2 billion in 2003. Net earnings for the 12 months were $16.6 billion, a 6 percent rise over the $15.6 billion totaled last year, before required accounting changes.