Dutch electronics giant Philips yesterday reported a 57 million euro (US$76 million) net loss for the first quarter of the year and warned the economic crisis would further hurt business in the months ahead.
The loss was accompanied by a 17 percent decline in sales to 5.1 billion euros. Philips saw net profit of 294 million euros during the same period last year.
The results correspond to forecasts from eight analysts questioned by Dow Jones Newswires who predicted a figure between a net loss of 98 million euros and a net profit of 28 million euros.
“In the first quarter of 2009 we have seen a significant further deterioration of our markets,” CEO Gerard Kleisterlee said in a statement.
“While the effects were felt most strongly in our activities that cater to the consumer market and to the construction and automotive industries, our healthcare sales are now impacted as well. We expect no material change to this situation in quarter two,” he said.
A cost-reduction program launched last year that includes cutting 6,000 jobs will allow the company to save 500 million euros at year’s end instead of 400 million as previously reported, Kleisterlee said.
It reported a loss before interest, tax and amortization (EBITA) of 74 million euros compared to a profit of 265 million euros in the first quarter of last year.
The Amsterdam-based company said that it had 5,126 fewer jobs in the first quarter than the previous one because of both structural changes and seasonal reductions.
The company’s sales slide has come with the global economic crisis taking a heavy toll on demand.
Its medical unit sales were down two percent, the company said, while consumer electronic sales dropped 25 percent to 1.8 billion euros.
Lighting division sales fell 19 percent to 1.5 billion euros.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
Taiwan’s exports soared to an all-time high of US$61.8 billion last month, surging 49.7 percent from a year earlier, as the global frenzy for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and new consumer electronics powered shipments of high-tech goods, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. It was the first time exports had exceeded the US$60 billion mark, fueled by the global boom in AI development that has significantly boosted Taiwanese companies across the international supply chain, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) told a media briefing. “There is a consensus among major AI players that the upcycle is still in its early stage,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
PREPARATION: Ferry lines and flights were canceled ahead of only the second storm to hit the nation in November, while many areas canceled classes and work Authorities yesterday evacuated more than 3,000 people ahead of approaching Tropical Storm Fung-wong, which is expected to make landfall between Kaohsiung and Pingtung County this evening. Fung-wong was yesterday morning downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm as it approached the nation’s southwest coast, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, as it issued a land alert for the storm. The alert applies to residents in Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春). As of press time last night, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Yilan, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Pingtung and Penghu counties, as well as Chiayi city and county had
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