Recall of ventilators triggers 14% slump in Philips share price

Electrical firm Philips saw its share price drop by 14% on Wednesday morning after it said the recall of machines to treat sleep apnea would cost it €225 million.

The Eindhoven-based conglomerate is having to replace more than five million ventilators worldwide after it emerged that they can release harmful chemicals in high heat or humidity, or during cleaning.

Part of the money has been set aside to settle expected lawsuits from users, particularly in the United States.

The company has produced 750,000 replacement machines after the design was approved in September, one-third of which have been distributed.

Philips has revised its expected turnover for the last quarter of 2021 downwards by €308 million to €4.9 billion, while its income for the full year is expected to be €17.9 billion, slightly less than 2020.