Philips Q4 Profit Drops

reported a 67% decline in its profit for the fourth quarter. Philips posted a quarterly net profit of EUR134 million ($150.69 million), versus a year-ago profit of EUR412 million. Its sales surged to EUR6.5 billion from EUR6.4 billion. In Healthcare, sales rose 1% to 2.849 billion euros, while Consumer Lifestyle sales gained 7% to 1.528 billion euros. Lighting sales surged 3% to 1.975 billion euros. EBITA slipped to EUR 262 million from EUR 789 million. Frans van Houten, CEO said, “The fourth quarter underscored a challenging 2014 for Philips. Our transformation efforts continued to show good results, even as we addressed performance issues, ongoing softness in end-markets like China and Russia, and stronger than anticipated foreign exchange impacts, particularly in emerging markets.” Philips shares rose 0.93% to close at $30.31 yesterday.