Philips’ spotlight on €103m loss as technology giant releases disappointing results
Technology giant Philips released disappointing third quarter results yesterday, showing a net loss of €103m (£103.76m), compared to a net income of €281m in 2013’s third quarter.
“We are not satisfied with our overall performance in the third quarter,” chief executive Frans van Houten said. He went on to cite market softness and a jury verdict against the company in a patent infringement case involving medical equipment manufacturer Masimo in the United States as key reasons behind recent struggles. Philips is facing a €366m fine relating to the lawsuit but is appealing.
“We are facing sustained softness in a number of markets such as China and Russia. We were also confronted by an adverse jury verdict with a surprisingly high proposed award in the Masimo litigation,” van Houten said.
However, the company said its lighting division was one bright spot at the company and cited a recent partnership to install LED lighting in nearly 1,000 Indonesian convenience stores, as well as a contract to install new LED pitch lighting inside Chelsea FC’s Stamford Bridge.
“In lighting, we are solving customer needs with exciting energy-efficient LED solutions,” van Houten said.
“And our breakthrough range of Hue Beyond connected luminaires illustrates how well-positioned we are to drive profitable growth through leading LED innovations, connected ecosystems and professional systems and services”.
The company also said it was still mulling plans to spin off the lighting division, and said an initial public offering of stock in the unit would be likely.