Philips: earnings fall short due to Covid crisis
(CercleFinance.com) - Dutch healthcare technology group Philips announced first-quarter results that missed estimates on Monday, with the COVID-19 outbreak hitting its businesses in China and Asia-Pacific.
Philips said income from continuing operations fell to 42 million euros in the first three months of the year, a far cry from the 171 million euros reported a year ago.
The company's EBITA margin decreased to 5.9% from 8.8% in the first quarter of 2019.
Comparable sales fell 2% to 4.2 billion euros, as strong demand for patient monitors and hospital ventilators was offset by a significant fall in demand for personal health products and a downward trend in image-guided therapy systems, it said.
For the full year 2020, Philips said it aims to report "modest" comparable sales growth, along with a limited improvement in its adjusted EBITA margin.
Given current uncertainty and volatility, the group said it will not provide more specific guidalines for 2020.
Its shares - which have already recovered over the past month - rose another 4.5% in early trading on Monday.
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