Sales down, but profit up again in Philips' Q3
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Philips Healthcare once again managed to expand its bottom line during a tough third quarter: sales fell 8% to €2.26bn ($3.09bn), but earnings before interest, taxes and amortization grew to €329m, compared with €305m during the same period last year. Foreign exchange rates had a negative impact on revenues, with healthcare sales flat on a constant currency basis. By division, Customer Services saw “mid-single-digit growth,” while Home Healthcare Solutions and Patient Care & Clinical Information both reported “low-single-digit growth,” and Imaging Systems posted a “mid-single-digit decline.” The firm’s cost-cutting efforts are continuing to pay off – Philips says it has reduced its healthcare headcount by 659 versus Q3 2012, mainly due to cuts in North America and Europe. Its Accelerate! program saved the group €183m in Q3, taking the total gross savings to date to €856m. The company’s latest performance echoes similar results in Q2 and Q1 (www.clinica.co.uk, 22 April 2013).