Mar 20, 2001 The weakness in the U.S. economy and the slowdown in telecommunication and PC markets that was already mentioned on February 8 in the outlook paragraph of the 2000 Annual Report of Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI), has continued further in recent weeks.
In the first quarter of 2001, sales revenue of the Semiconductor division will be up by approximately 7%, while income from operations will be down approximately 10% compared with a year ago. Philips' Components and Consumer Electronics divisions are expected to report negative income from operations in the first quarter.
At the same time operational performance at the Lighting, Domestic Appliances and Personal Care, and Medical Systems divisions, excluding acquisition related charges, will be equal to or better than last year. Results from Unconsolidated Companies are being impacted by the slowdown in markets mentioned above and the low level of LCD prices.
Philips has reacted quickly to the new market circumstances by adjusting cost structures to revenue levels where possible, by cutting back capital spending and by tightly managing working capital.
Philips will publish its 2001 first quarterly results on April 17, 2001, at 07:00 hrs Dutch time.
