Philips’ results surprise

12/10/09 20:43 CET

corporate

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Philips Electronics managed better than expected third-quarter results as its cost-cutting measures started to take effect, however the Dutch conglomerate said it has still not seen a recovery in most of its markets.

Europe’s biggest consumer electronics producer said sales fell by a comparable 11 percent from the same period last year ago to 5.6 billion euros. Analysts said the drop in sales was not as bad as expected and Philips earnings before tax jumped to 344 million euros from 57 million euros in the same quarter last year. Chief Financial Officer Pierre-Jean Sivignon said the company remains “cautious about the short-term outlook” with no structural recovery in the majority of its markets. Those remarks echo comments made by competitors General Electric and Siemens that underlying recovery had not yet begun. Philips is in the process of cutting 6,000 workers this year in response to the recession.More about: Economic growth, Electronics

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