Royal Philips Electronics, the largest European manufacturer of television sets, has raised its targeted profitability rate, citing savings achieved through cost-cutting and acquisitions.
The company’s profit before tax, interest, and depreciation is expected to exceed 10 percent of sales by 2010, while this year’s rate is 7.5 percent, the company announced. Operating profit per share is expected to double. An annual saving of nearly 200 million euros will enable Philips to reach its targeted profit, said the company’s CEO Gerard Kleisterlee. Although the company is preparing for a business reorganization, it does not intend to lay off employees, Kleisterlee added. In the years 2008 to 2010, Philips aims to achieve a sales increase of 6 percent. However, Kleisterlee did not want to forecast the amount of profit per share before tax, interest, and depreciation. (H)
