Third-quarter profits for the parent company of Philips Healthcare (NYSE:PHG) soared by some 124%, fueled in part by strong top-and bottom-line growth for the healthcare business.
The Dutch conglomerate posted profits of $221.9 million (€170 million), or 23¢ per share, on sales of $8.0 billion (€6.13 billion) during the 3 months ended Sept. 30. That’s a profit increase of 123.7% and a sales increase of 13.6%.
The news sent PHG shares up 5.7% to $26.01 apiece as of about 1:30 p.m. today on Wall Street.
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For its part, Philips Healthcare logged operating income of $362.9 million (€278 million) on sales of $3.19 billion (€2.44 billion) for the quarter, up 34.3% and 17.6%, respectively. Healthcare earnings before interest and taxes grew 26.4%, from $340.7 million (€261 million) to $430.8 million (€330 million) during Q3 2012.
"Higher earnings were primarily a result of strong sales-driven gross margin, mainly at imaging systems, and productivity improvements at customer services," according to a regulatory filing.
Philips said restructuring and acquisition-related charges for its healthcare business were $1.3 million (€1 million) higher than in Q3 2011.
"Our healthcare business continues to perform well, as comparable sales grew 7% and order intake increased by 6%," Philips CEO Frans van Houten said in prepared remarks. "We continue to experience strong economic headwinds on a global scale, which affect growth going forward. Our Accelerate! program is helping to mitigate some of these pressures, and we have full confidence in our ability to continue improving the operational and financial performance of the company."
