Philips Launches EUR1.5 Billion Share-Buyback Program; 2Q Profit Hit by Provision

By Ian Walker

Koninklijke Philips NV on Monday launched a 1.5 billion euro ($1.77 billion) share buyback as it reported a fall in second-quarter net profit after booking a provision against a faulty component used in some sleep and respiratory-care products, as previously flagged.

The Dutch health-technology company backed its full-year guidance. It expects to deliver low-to-mid-single-digits comparable sales growth for 2021. The company also said it expects to report adjusted earnings before interest, taxes and amortization margin improvement of 60 to 80 basis points.

Philips made a net profit attributable to shareholders of EUR150 million for the quarter ended June 30, compared with EUR208 million for the same period last year. It booked a provision of EUR250 million.

Quarterly sales rose to EUR4.23 billion from EUR3.97 billion, missing analysts' expectations for EUR4.19 billion taken from the company's website. On a comparable basis, sales grew 9%, beating a company-provided consensus estimate of 7.3%.

Adjusted Ebita--a metric that strips out exceptional and other one-off items--was EUR532 million, compared with EUR390 million a year earlier and a company-compiled consensus of EUR519 million, Philips said.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 26, 2021 01:36 ET (05:36 GMT)

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