Philips posts disappointing results

Electronics giant sees decline in revenue from TVs, displays and multimedia products

Sales of home network equipment remained strong, says Philips

Dutch electronics giant Philips saw after-tax income for the first quarter of 2008 fall to €219m (£176m), well below analyst expectations.

Overall revenue remained effectively flat – up just one per cent. Sales grew two per cent year on year in the Europe/Africa region, but fell nine per cent in the US.

The company blamed lower sales of TV sets, connected displays, and video and multimedia applications for the overall decline, but said revenues from home network equipment was strong.

Quarterly income was down from €875m (£704m) in the first quarter of 2007, when Philips derived €733m (£590m) from the partial sale of its Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TMSC) shareholding.

“Unfortunately, our results are clouded, more than we like, by the adverse situation in our TV business, significantly lower incidental licence income and some acquisition-related charges,” said Philips president and chief executive officer, Gerard Kleisterlee, in a statement.