Philips Q1 Earnings: Sales, Margins Beat Estimates on Higher Orders
Philips First-Quarter 2024 Financial Results Overview
Revenue and Sales Performance
May 6 (Reuters) - Dutch healthcare technology group Philips reported first-quarter revenues and margins above market expectations on Wednesday, with order intake growth helped by demand in North America and Europe.
Sales at the group, which makes products ranging from toothbrushes to medical imaging systems, grew 4% on a comparable basis to 3.91 billion euros ($4.59 billion) in the quarter ended March 31.
Adjusted Earnings and Margins
That resulted in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, and amortization (EBITA) of 353 million euros, with a margin of 9%, it said, helped by the company's cost-management initiatives.
Analyst Expectations vs. Actual Results
Analysts, on average, had expected sales of 3.88 billion euros, comparable growth of 3.4%, and adjusted EBITA of 325 million euros, according to a company-compiled poll.
Outlook and Guidance
Philips reiterated its full-year outlook for comparable sales growth between 3% and 4.5%, an adjusted EBITA margin of 12.5% to 13%, and free cash flow of 1.3 to 1.5 billion euros.
Impact of U.S. Tariffs
The forecast includes the impact from U.S. import tariffs, which Philips said in February would continue to weigh into 2026, but excludes potential tariff refunds.
Legal Developments on Tariffs
The U.S. Supreme Court in February struck down President Donald Trump's tariffs, leaving open questions about whether and how companies that paid levies would be entitled to a rebate.
Trump said "other alternatives" were available to him to pursue tariffs, and announced a 10% global tariff under a legal authority different from the one at issue in the case, "over and above our normal tariffs already being charged."
Additional Information
($1 = 0.8522 euros)
(Reporting by Alessandro Parodi in Gdansk, editing by Rashmi Aich)
