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Philips sees ‘uncertainty’ due to Covid in 2021
THE HAGUE, Jan 25, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Dutch electronics giant Philips said
Monday it saw “uncertainty” this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, as net
profit for 2020 rose 1.9 percent.
The company, now focused on healthcare after decades as a key home
appliances and lighting player, had sales of 19.5 billion euros ($23.7
billion) in 2020, up 0.9 percent on 2019.
“Looking ahead, we continue to see uncertainty related to the impact of
Covid-19 across the world,” Philips chief executive Frans van Houten said in
a statement.
“For 2021, Philips plans to deliver low-single-digit comparable sales
growth, driven by solid growth in diagnosis and treatment and personal
health.”
Philips said net income in the fourth quarter of 2020 rose 9.17 percent
year-on-year to 607 million euros.
The firm signed deals with 25 hospitals in the United States, Europe and
Asia in the final quarter and expanded remote “telehealth” services for
consumers at home, it said.
Total 2020 net profit hit 1.19 billion euros compared to 1.17 billion
euros in 2019.
Van Houten said Philips’s performance was “resilient” because of a
“stronger performance in the second half of the year, following a challenging
first half due to the impact of Covid-19.”
In December Philips said it was buying US remote cardiac monitoring firm
BioTelemetry for $2.8 billion (2.3 billion euros).
Philips said in January 2020 that it would sell off its home appliance arm
over the coming year-and-a-half to fully concentrate on health sector
products.
BSS/AFP/MSY/1434 hrs