Philips Healthcare (NYSE:PHG) grew its pre-tax profits by nearly 10% despite seeing its 1st-quarter sales slide 4%.
The Dutch medical device company’s parent’s overall profits slipped more than 11% on a slight sales decrease compared with the same period last year.
Philips Healthcare reported Q1 earnings before interest, taxes and amortization of $290 million (€222 million) on sales of $2.78 billion (€2.13 billion).
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Overall, Philips posted profits of $211.6 million (€162 million), or 24¢ (€0.18) per share, on sales of $6.87 billion (€5.26 billion), representing an 11.5% profit decline on a 0.9% top-line slip.
"At healthcare, lower order intake in 2012 impacted sales, mainly in the US," Philips CEO Frans van Houten said in prepared remarks. "We reiterate our view of a slow 1st half to 2013, due to adverse market trends, especially in Europe and the U.S."
Philips Healthcare said its customer services and home healthcare solutions posted low-single-digit growth, with flat sales for its patient care & clinical informatics and a high-single-digit decline for the imaging systems segment. The company credited its healthcare division’s profit growth to "overhead cost reductions" and improved gross margins.
PHG shares closed at $26.88 apiece on Wall Street today, down 5.0%.