Philips will stop producing home appliances

PanARMENIAN.Net - Philips will complete its transformation to a health technology business with the sale of its domestic appliances division, which no longer fits with the company's range of hospital equipment and personal health products, Reuters reports.

Once a sprawling conglomerate, Amsterdam-based Philips has narrowed its focus in recent years, spinning off the lighting and consumer electronics divisions for which it was previously best known.

Philips said on Tuesday, January 29 it would carve out the domestic appliances business, which produces coffee machines, vacuum cleaners and airfryers and generated 2.3 billion euros ($2.6 billion) in sales last year, in the coming 12 to 18 months.

"This business is not a strategic fit for our future as a health technology leader," Chief Executive Officer Frans van Houten said.

He added that all options remained open for the division, which he said had a double-digit profit margin that was "slightly less" than the average for Philips.

The already struggling connected care business, which specialises in remote patient monitoring, was the hardest hit and Van Houten said that following a significant fall in margins, the division's leader Carla Kriwet would leave the company and be replaced by Philips veteran Roy Jakobs.