Philips Electronics Posts Surprise Profit
October 12, 2009 by Mark Ellis
Filed under Business
European electronics maker Royal Philips Electronics has posted an unexpected third-quarter profit due to the fact that the company’s operating earnings in its consumer unit almost doubled. Considering the dire straits that the technology industry has been through since the onset of the witehring recession, Philips’ performance has come as something of a surprise to many analysts.
The company’s third-quarter net income rose to $256 million, marking a rise of almost 300 percent from the same period last year’s figures. Philips’ performance completely smashes analyst expectations, with analysts expecting a net income loss of 44.7 million euros, or about $66 million. Sales, however, fell to 5.62 billion euros from 6.33 billion euros, which still managed to beat the average analyst forecast of 5.45 billion euros.
Analysts have stated that Philips Electronics is coming out of the recession much faster than expected, with its quick and efficient cost-cutting measures resulting in great relative success. The only part that still needs to recover for the company is sales, but slow consumer spending and relatively weak demand may keep that figure in check for some time to come.
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