Philips reports rise in sales, income in Q2

Philips reported an increase of revenue and profit in the second quarter of 2015 compared to the same period a year ago, the Dutch electronics giant announced Monday.

Philips reported Q2 sales of 5.974 billion euros (6.636 billion U.S. dollars) this year, compared to 4.969 billion euros in the same period last year. Comparable sales grew by 3 percent particularly driven by improvements in North America, Central and Eastern Europe and India.

The net income amounted to 274 million euros, compared to 243 million euros in Q2 of 2014. The increase was according to Philips mainly due to improved earnings as a result of higher volumes.

"We are encouraged by the continuing improvement in our operational results in the second quarter of 2015, driven by strong comparable sales growth in healthcare and strong margin improvements in consumer lifestyle and lighting," CEO Frans van Houten said in a press release.

"While we are pleased with our progress overall and our healthcare performance in the United States in particular, we are increasingly concerned about the global macro-economic environment, particularly in China, Russia and Latin America," the CEO added.

In September last year, Philips decided to split into two separate independent companies, one for lighting solutions and one combining health care and consumer lifestyle. This separation is still in progress.

Philips expects to finalize the transition of the lighting business into its own legal structure within the Philips Group by February 2016 in order to complete the separation in the first half of 2016. The Dutch company is currently reviewing all options for the lighting business, including an initial public offering and a private sale. Endit