NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - General Electric Co. reported third-quarter earnings Friday in line with Wall Street expectations and confirmed its earlier guidance on full-year results.

Shares of Fairfield, Conn.-based GE jumped more than 7 percent at one point in Friday trading after the conglomerate said it planned aggressive cost-cutting and restructuring at several units in the coming months as it improves margins and sales amid a tough economic climate.

GE's shares have taken a pounding in recent weeks as many investors speculated about the integrity of its books, given that it has remained bullish on earnings in a rough economy and as other large companies have disclosed whopping accounting scandals.

The shares have also been hurt by slack performance in such economically sensitive businesses as aircraft engines, plastics and equipment management. The stock has been cut nearly in half from its 52-week high of $41.84.

But the firm has been streamlining the business, restructuring and cutting costs, and making acquisitions, all of which helped boost profits.

GE said Friday it earned net income of $4.1 billion, or 41 cents a share, in the quarter, up 25 percent from net income of $3.3 billion, or 33 cents a share, a year earlier. That was in line with the consensus forecast of analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call. The year-earlier period included a $400 million charge for Sept. 11-related reinsurance losses.

The company said it expects to meet its previously stated full-year earnings target of $1.65 a share, which matches the First Call forecast and is up from the $1.49 a share it earned before special items in the year-earlier period.

"The economy is much tougher than anyone planned, but the fundamentals of GE are in great shape," GE CEO Jeff Immelt said in a statement.

Immelt told analysts during a conference call Friday that the company is planning for conservative economic growth, forecasting 2 percent growth in U.S. gross domestic product and that the company faces pricing pressure across most units.

"We really don't see a double dip, just slow economic growth," Immelt told analysts Friday.

Prudential Securities analysts Nicholas Heymann believes GE is getting ready to exit several lines, possibly including appliances and lighting as it repositions itself more as a technology solutions business focusing more on processes and systems rather than manufacturing consumer products.

At the same time, GE is likely to hang onto its aircraft engine business and other major manufacturing operations.

Repositioning the company this way will help GE boost margins significantly by developing more intellectual property, which it can sell at a premium, rather than manufacturing appliances and other consumer products that have come under sharp pricing pressure, Heymann said. However, Heymann, who maintains a "buy" rating on the company with a $33 price target, disclosed that he owns GE stock and that Prudential Securities has done some bond underwriting work for the company.

Chief Financial Officer Keith Sherin told analysts during a conference call Friday that GE plans to file a $50 billion shelf registration in October to help meet its funding needs through the first half of 2003.

Aircraft engines, plastics, reinsurance and other "short-cycle" businesses are among the company's divisions most under pressure, he said. But aggressive cost-cutting and restructuring should help bolster those units in 2003, the company said.

Strong performances in its technology-driven businesses and consumer products has helped offset some of the weakness in other divisions, Immelt said during the teleconference.

Excluding proceeds from the sale of GE Global eXchange Services, revenue at the company rose 9 percent to $32.1 billion from $29.5 billion a year earlier. Including the sale, revenue rose 11 percent to $32.6 billion, but that was still short of the First Call revenue forecast of $33.2 billion.

Revenue increased across most of the company's major units except for consumer products, in which revenue was off 2 percent, and aircraft engines, in which revenue fell 5 percent. The company announced plans to cut up to 10 percent of staff in that unit by the end of next year due to continued weakness in demand for new commercial jets.

The company saw more mixed results on operating income from the various units, as the materials division and the industrial products and systems unit joined aircraft engines and consumer products in producing lower income.

Among the bright spots was its television network NBC, whose revenue was up 30 percent to $1.4 billion, and operating income was up 59 percent to $330 million. In addition, its commercial finance, consumer finance and insurance divisions all posted revenue growth of 15 percent or better along with operating income growth of 11 percent or better.

The company said its reinsurance business took a $156 million loss in the third quarter and that its GE Equity business incurred a $167 million loss. But GE took measures in the quarter to streamline the business, cutting 40 percent of its 2000 risk portfolio.

"We're going to continue to run this business as well as we can going forward," Sherin said. "We are reviewing our strategic options, and in the current planning process we're counting on break-even results in 2003."

The company also took a $68 million restructuring charge in the third quarter on its power systems business.

Customer orders from the plastics business fell in the third quarter, but Sherin said he expects improved numbers for the fourth quarter in plastics and the rest of the company's short-cycle businesses.

"As you go into the fourth quarter we have much easier comparisons," Sherin said.

Immelt expects "dramatic restructuring" in its power systems business to produce a soft landing in 2003. He also anticipates a modest recovery in short-cycle businesses in spite of added pricing pressure as the company undertakes "aggressive" cost reductions and increases global market share and growth through acquisitions and other strategies.

"I think you're going to see some activity in the fourth quarter," Immelt said regarding future acquisitions. "We want to stay on strategy. We want to be well-positioned to do good deals for our investors."