Philips reports Q4 EPS EUR 0.51 vs. EUR 0.40 last year

Reports Q4 revenue EUR 5.04B vs. EUR 5.06B last year. Reports Q4 comparable sales up 1%. The company said, “We delivered better care for more people by enhancing execution and focusing on driving improvements in profitability and cash flow, as well as order and sales growth. We strengthened our fundamentals and resolved significant US litigation relating to the Respironics recall. Despite double-digit declines in demand in both consumer and health systems in China, we returned to positive order growth and continued to drive margin expansion and cash-flow generation. With our strong balance sheet we are pleased to offer shareholders the option to receive the dividend in shares or cash. Within a persistently challenging macro environment, our focus remains on executing our value creation plan, bringing industry-leading innovations to the market and driving a simplified, more agile operating model. We strengthened our team and culture of impact with care, with patient safety and quality as our number one priority. Looking ahead, we remain confident in our long-term plan and will continue to work closely with customers as we build on our strong innovation pipeline and focus on execution excellence to drive profitable growth.”