Philips Healthcare (NYSE:PHG) managed to boost its profits by nearly 8% during the 3rd quarter, despite posting a sales slump of more than 7%.
The Dutch conglomerate’s healthcare business reported earnings before interest, taxes and amortization of €329 million (about $449.8 million) on sales of €2.26 billion ($3.09 billion) for the quarter. That’s an EBITA gain of 7.9% on a top-line decline of 7.6% compared with Q3 2012.
Philips Electronics overall reported profits of €281 million ($384.2 million), or €0.31 (42¢) per share, on sales of €5.62 billion ($7.68 billion) for the quarter, representing a whopping 167.6% profit increase over the same period last year, on a 3.5% sales drop.
News of the nearly tripled profits sent PHG shares up 4.7% to $35.11 apiece as of about noon today.
"This was another solid quarter for Philips, especially in light of the challenging global economic environment. I am pleased with the 33% increase in our operational results, clearly reflecting the continuing benefits of our Accelerate! program," CEO Frans van Houten said in prepared remarks. "Our overhead cost-reduction program has resulted in €856 million in total gross savings to date, including €183 million realized in Q3 2013."
Philips said it began a share repurchasing program today that will see it buy back up to 1.5 million shares of its own stock. Philips Healthcare has laid off 659 employees since Q3 2012, "mainly as a result of reductions in North America and Europe," according to a press release.