Electronics giant Philips reported on Jan. 24 a more than three-fold rise in net income for 2010 due to increased emerging market sales. Net profit for the year was 1.45 billion euros (US$$1.96 billion), up from 410 million euros in 2009.
Comparable sales rose 4% to 25.4 billion euros, with the strongest growth, of 12%, in emerging country markets.
"2010 was an eventful and overall positive year for Philips," chief executive officer Gerard Kleisterlee said, despite "negative consumer sentiment in developed markets.
"We rebounded strongly from the economic downturn caused by the financial crisis."
Philips, a manufacturer of medical equipment, televisions and lighting systems, employs about 119,000 people in more than 60 countries.
For the fourth quarter of 2010, Philips reported net income of 463 million euros, up from 251 million euros in the same period of 2009. This was largely thanks to lower restructuring costs and a good operational result, offsetting a four percent drop in quarterly sales driven partly by "a weak television market," Kleisterlee said.
"Television profitability ... remained a major issue that we are committed to resolve," he said.
Philips reported revenue of 7.39 billion euros for the quarter, of which 33% came in emerging markets.
Philips said it saw "the first leading indicators of positive momentum in construction markets, which is expected to benefit lighting sales in the latter half of 2011.
"We expect emerging markets to continue to support growth in all three sectors while consumer sentiment in mature markets remains subdued," it said.
Announcing its strategic plan in September, Philips said it was targeting annual sales gains of "at least two percent higher than global gross domestic product" growth from 2011 to 2015.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2011
