Philips reports slight profit increase in Q3
Dutch electronics and medical device manufacturer Philips reported a slight gain in third-quarter net profits Tuesday as it battles tariff uncertainty and ongoing litigation over faulty sleep apnoea machines. The firm banked 187 million in profits in the third quarter, compared with 181 million it registered in the same period in 2024. In the second quarter of this year, Philips had posted profits of 240 million euros. "In this quarter we maintained our momentum," Chief Executive Roy Jakobs said in a statement.
The company also maintained its forecast of an increase in annual sales of between one to three percent. In the third quarter, sales came in at 4.3 billion euros, the same as during the second quarter. Philips continues to battle legal difficulties over a 2021 recall of DreamStation machines for sleep apnoea, a disorder in which breathing intermittently stops during sleep. It recalled millions of machines over concerns users were at risk of inhaling or swallowing pieces of toxic sound-absorbing foam and fears it could potentially cause cancer.
The firm agreed in 2024 to pay $1.1 billion to settle US lawsuits related to the recall, although it did not acknowledge liability. In September, sources close to the case told AFP that a magistrate in France was looking into whether Philips committed aggravated fraud in relation to the machines. The Paris prosecutor's office confirmed to AFP that it had received 104 complaints from individuals, two from associations, as well as an alert from France's medical device regulator. Philips said that probe, opened in June, concerned its actions during the 2021 recall and had no bearing on the quality of its current machines.
In July, Philipe said it expected a hit of between 150 million euros and 200 million euros this year from US tariffs. It had earlier estimated that impact as high at 300 million euros and the change in forecast sent its shares more than 10 percent higher in July. Long known for its light bulbs and television sets, the Dutch consumer giant has since refocused its production on medical equipment.
