Philips issues cautious outlook for 2016January 26, 2016 - 11:51 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Philips, the Dutch maker of LED lights and medical scanners, on Tuesday, Jan 26, reported core fourth quarter earnings ahead of expectations but issued a cautious outlook for 2016, Reuters reports. The company, which is trying to dispose of its lighting operations, forecast "modest" sales growth of around 2 percent this year, and said it expects improvement only in the second half. Adjusted EBITA, or earnings before interest, taxes, and amortization, came in at 842 million euros ($913 million), compared with 743 million euros in the same period a year earlier. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast EBITA of 799 million euros. Comparable sales increased by 2 percent to 7.1 billion euros, Philips said. CEO Frans van Houten said in a statement that the company expects "modest comparable sales growth" this year. "Taking into account ongoing macroeconomic headwinds and the phasing of costs and sales, we expect improvements in the year to be back-end loaded," he said. The company reported a net loss of 39 million euros for the fourth quarter. Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Titus, Bilirakis lead legislation to sanction Azerbaijani war criminals Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) have introduced the bipartisan legislation. Azerbaijan must respect human rights, Scholz tells Aliyev German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called for greater respect for human rights in Azerbaijan. Armenia: Defense Ministry warns against involving army in political processes The Ministry’s statement came after a video surfaced online, showing soldiers joining the protests in Tavush. Scholz hopes Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty will be signed this year German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes that a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be signed this year. |