Electronics group Philips booked net profit of €201m in the first three months of this year, compared with a loss of €59m a year earlier.

Sales were up 12% at €5.7bn, compared with the year-earlier period. In particular, the company said it has benefited from strong growth in developing markets such as China and India, where sales rose 22% year on year.
Both earnings and sales outstripped analysts’ forecasts.
Fantastic
‘The results are simply fantastic,’ ING analyst Jan Hein de Vroe told news agency Bloomberg. ‘If you take into account a normal season pattern, consensus for the full year will need to come up drastically.’
Philips said growth in its lighting business had led the recovery, recording an 18% rise in sales. But healthcare and consumer electronics also performed well.
‘Nevertheless, economic uncertainty remains high and consumer confidence low. At the same time, some key markets such as the construction sector have yet to recover,’ said CEO Gerard Kleisterlee in a statement.