GE is getting whacked by the oil industry

General Electric got slammed by the oil industry in the fourth quarter.

The company reported an 8% drop in fourth-quarter industrial profits on Friday morning, on weakness in its divisions catering to power and oil and gas industries.

The company, which has been cutting back on its financial services operations, said its industrial segment operating profit fell to $5.52 billion in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, from $5.99 billion, a year earlier.

Total profit rose to $6.28 billion, or 64 cents per share, from $5.15 billion, or 51 cents per share.

On an adjusted basis, earnings per share were 52 cents, beating Bloomberg's consensus forecast for 49 cents.

Total revenue rose 1.4% to $33.89 billion.

"We recognize that the first few weeks of 2016 have been especially volatile," GE chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt said in the earnings release. He added that the company had done well in a "slow-growth environment."

Over the next few weeks, it's likely that more companies - energy firms, and those who are closely linked to the sector - would illustrate how much the plunge in oil prices has impacted their business.

GE shares fell about 2.6% in pre-market trading.

(Reuters editing by Kirti Pandey)