Philips sees profits rebound

Global electronics giant Philips has reported a profitable first quarter of 2010, as it continues to recover from the recession.

The Dutch firm’s healthcare business added to overall good results, with a 20% growth in equipment orders.

The company said it made a pre-tax profit of €320m for the first three months of the year, compared with deep losses in 2009.

Overall healthcare sales for the first quarter improved by 7%, to €1.82 billion, driven by double digit growth in customer services and “high single digit growth in clinical care systems”.

However, there were wide regional variations in performance, with Europe seeing a smallish decline in healthcare revenues.

Overall healthcare earnings EBITA increased to €103m for the first quarter. Philips says improvements were seen in all healthcare businesses, including Healthcare Informatics and Imaging Systems.

The company also said that its expansion into emerging markets was aiding its recovery, with sales there up 22%.

Gerard Kleisterlee, Philips’ chief executive, welcomed the results, though he admitted that profits were bound to compare favourably to those from during last year’s recession.