The Dutch company got into trouble in 2021 due to a major recall for millions of sleep apnea devices for home use. Insulating foam could come loose from those devices. The issue has already cost Philips hundreds of millions of euros in repair costs, write-offs and settlements. CEO Roy Jakobs warned last year that the company may take years to settle the affair.
At first glance, Philips’ figures on Monday do not seem to be very exciting. Analysts expect turnover for the first quarter to be more or less in line with a year ago. It is expected that Philips will be able to record a profit.
Negotiations
A year ago there was still a significant loss, because Philips announced that it would set aside 575 million euros. That money was intended to compensate American patients for so-called economic damage due to problems with the apnea devices.
Such an announcement could easily follow again. The most important thing that still needs to be reached is a settlement with patients with health complaints, says Hesselink. He doesn’t expect any news about that yet. But if Philips reaches an agreement in negotiations, it could well cost around 3 billion, Hesselink thinks. He emphasizes that this is a very rough estimate.
Due to all the commotion about the scandal, the share price has already fallen considerably in recent years. Versteeg points out that the Philips share is now relatively “cheap”. But investing in Philips is not without risk, he adds. For example, if research suddenly reveals that released material was carcinogenic, then Philips could face a major problem, according to Versteeg.
Tags: Experts remain focused sleep apnea affair Philips figures
