Second-quarter highlights
• Comparable sales growth of 3% particularly driven by improvements in North America, Central & Eastern Europe and India
• EBITA, excluding restructuring and acquisition-related charges and other items, amounted to EUR 501 million, or 8.4% of sales, compared to 7.9% of sales in Q2 2014
• EBITA totaled EUR 450 million, or 7.5% of sales, compared to 7.4% of sales in Q2 2014
• Net income amounted to EUR 274 million, compared to EUR 243 million in Q2 2014
• Free cash outflow was EUR 30 million, compared to a free cash inflow of EUR 214 million in Q2 2014
• Separation process is progressing well

Frans van Houten, CEO:

“We are encouraged by the continuing improvement in our operational results in the second quarter of 2015, driven by strong comparable sales growth in Healthcare and strong margin improvements in Consumer Lifestyle and Lighting. While we are pleased with our progress overall and our Healthcare performance in the US in particular, we are increasingly concerned about the global macro-economic environment, particularly in China, Russia and Latin America.

In Healthcare, we achieved significant operational margin improvements in the quarter. This was largely offset by a sizable negative foreign exchange impact on the margin, further investment in growth opportunities, and costs related to considerable continued efforts to improve our quality management systems. We also note that the Chinese market is becoming more difficult, which resulted in a drop in orders. We are pleased with the production and shipment ramp-up at our Cleveland manufacturing facility, although more work remains to be done.

In Consumer Lifestyle, we delivered further operational results improvements, driven by excellent performance in Health & Wellness. As previously indicated, phasing of new product introductions drove exceptionally strong growth in the first quarter, leading to the lower growth rate in the second quarter. In aggregate, comparable sales growth in the first half of 2015 was well within the range of mid to high single-digit growth.
In Lighting, we continued to drive strong sales growth and improve profitability levels in our LED business. Simultaneously, we sustained our conventional lighting business’ attractive cash and profitability profile by pro-actively optimizing our manufacturing footprint and tight cost control, despite significant market decline. As the world leader in lighting, we are confident in our ability to lead the transformation in this industry.

Looking ahead, we continue to expect modest sales growth for 2015, as well as improved operational performance for the year. While we are concerned about the impact the more challenging global macro-economic environment is having on results, we expect continued operational performance improvement in 2016, reinforcing the underlying strength of our businesses. We intend to provide more details about the performance trajectory for HealthTech and Lighting Solutions at our Capital Markets Day on September 15.”

Accelerate! and Separation Update

“Our Accelerate! program continues to drive improvements across the organization. In Healthcare, we optimized the end-to-end processes at one of our Volcano manufacturing facilities by running continuous-improvement Kaizen events that led to a more than 80% reduction in lead time and a 50% reduction in work-in-progress inventory for the improved lines. In Consumer Lifestyle, through our customer-centric innovation approach, we successfully launched a high-performance range of rice cookers in China with 30% faster time-to-market. This locally relevant value proposition drove strong customer preference, resulting in a 4-point market share increase since the launch. In Lighting, we reduced supply chain complexity and optimized the processes in the UK, which led to a 60% reduction in lead times for product configuration and delivery. This also drove a 50% increase in the total value of opportunities in the sales funnel and high-single-digit growth in orders volume.”

Overhead cost savings amounted to EUR 60 million in the second quarter. The Design for Excellence (DfX) program generated EUR 84 million of incremental savings in procurement in the quarter. Our End2End productivity program achieved EUR 36 million in productivity improvements.

Philips expects to finalize the transition of the Lighting business into its own legal structure within the Philips Group by February 2016 in order to complete the separation in the first half of 2016. Philips had previously estimated that the separation costs would amount to EUR 300-400 million in 2015. Now that the Company is halfway through the separation process, it anticipates lower separation costs of EUR 200-300 million in 2015 and estimates that separation costs, including related restructuring, will amount to EUR 200-300 million in 2016. As previously stated, Philips is reviewing all strategic options for the Lighting business, including an initial public offering and a private sale.

As additional time is required for regulatory approvals, Philips is now working towards closing the sale of a majority interest in the combined LED components and Automotive lighting business to a consortium led by GO Scale Capital in the fourth quarter of 2015.
As of June 30, 2015, Philips had completed 59% of the EUR 1.5 billion share buy-back program.

Q2 2015 Financial and Operational Overview

Healthcare
Healthcare comparable sales grew 8% year-on-year. Excluding restructuring and acquisition-related charges and other items, EBITA margin increased by 20 basis points to 10.7% as strong operational improvements were largely offset by a significant negative currency impact. Currency-comparable order intake showed a mid-single-digit decline year-on-year, with double-digit growth in North America offset by declines in China, Latin America and Western Europe.

“We are pleased that Healthcare continues to improve its sales growth and profitability, with North America making a significant and positive contribution as we increase order fulfillment out of our Cleveland facility. We again secured strategically important multi-year contracts, including a USD 500 million partnership with Westchester Medical Center Health Network. Highlighting our leadership in ultrasound imaging and advanced informatics, we introduced the Philips Lumify app-based ultrasound solution in the US. The solution combines a dedicated Philips ultrasound transducer, a compatible smart device and application, and secure cloud-enabled services with an innovative subscription model that will generate recurring revenues.”

Consumer Lifestyle

Consumer Lifestyle comparable sales increased by 3% year-on-year, with double-digit growth at Health & Wellness and high-single digit growth at Personal Care, in part offset by a decline at Domestic Appliances. EBITA margin, excluding restructuring and acquisition related charges and other items, increased by 130 basis points to 10.7% year-on-year. The increase was largely driven by a positive mix effect and cost productivity, which were partially offset by negative currency effects.

“Consumer Lifestyle continues to perform well. We posted double-digit growth in Oral Healthcare, expanding market share in North America, China and Europe. We expanded leadership positions in multiple geographies, including market share gains in Mother & Child Care. Our strategic focus on innovation is illustrated by the positive reception in North America, China, and Europe for our new Philips Sonicare toothbrushes as well as the Sonicare AirFloss Pro.”

Lighting

Lighting comparable sales declined 3% year-on-year. Growth in LED lighting sales of 21% was offset by a decline in overall conventional lighting sales of 16%. LED sales now represent 40% of total Lighting sales, compared to 34% in Q2 2014. EBITA margin, excluding restructuring and acquisition-related charges and other items, improved by 140 basis points to 9.6% year-on-year, despite a significant negative currency impact on the margin. This increase was driven by the continued improvement in LED lighting margins, continued cost management, and ongoing pro-active optimization of the manufacturing footprint.

“We are pleased to have further improved our EBITA margin despite a sizable decline in comparable conventional lighting sales. We continue to take action to mitigate the impact of unfavorable end-market conditions in countries like China and underperformance in Professional Lighting Solutions North America. We are excited by the reception of our new, innovative products and systems in the market place. For example, we installed our intelligent connected LED system at a Carrefour supermarket in Lille, France, which will reduce the total lighting-based electricity consumption by 50% and enable our customer to provide location-based services, such as promotions, to shoppers’ smartphones. We also introduced the Warm Glow Clear LED bulb, which resembles traditional glass incandescent bulbs. We will outfit the New NY Bridge, which will replace the Tappan Zee bridge, with cloud-based connected LED lighting which features dynamic colorful effects that can be programmed remotely.”

Innovation, Group & Services

Sales amounted to EUR 136 million in the second quarter of 2015, a decline from EUR 142 million in the second quarter of 2014, mainly because higher revenues from IP Royalties and Group Innovation were offset by the divestment of the OEM remote controls business. EBITA was a net cost of EUR 124 million, reflecting increased innovation investments and costs of EUR 27 million related to the separation of the Lighting business, compared to a net cost of EUR 68 million in the second quarter of 2014.

“The fast growing Digital Pathology business is driving the digital transformation in pathology. As a world first, Philips has enabled Netherlands-based LabPON to become the first clinical pathology laboratory in the world to have transitioned completely to digital diagnosis. Philips’ ultrafast pathology scanner, information management system and services will improve laboratory efficiency, quality and service levels.”

tijd 09.00
De AEX 488.90 -1,14 -0,23% Philips EUR 25,34 +1,16 vol. 250.000