Philips exceeds forecast earnings as pandemic increases demand
Health tech firm Philips beat expectations in the second quarter after a pandemic-fuelled demand spike saw profits hit £455m, the firm confirmed to markets this morning.
Analysts had expected profit to come in around £10m shy of that figure.
The third wave of the pandemic across much of western Europe resulted in personal protection and hospital equipment sales to soar.
Selling everything from toothbrushes to medical appliances, the company saw comparable sales rise by 9 per cent.
Declining respiratory sales came as Philips recalled near 4 million breathing devices and ventilators due to a compartment that might become toxic, and potentially cause cancer.
The Amsterdam-based company had an additional €250 million of provisions to help aid in repairing and replacing the millions of faulty ventilators and sleep devices.
Philips chief executive Frans van Houten said, “we are in discussions with the relevant regulatory authorities to obtain authorisation to start deploying the repair kits and replacement devices that we are producing.”
The company confirmed its forecast of low to mid single-digit comparable sales growth in 2021.