Philips healthcare sales fall in 3Q

Philips healthcare sales fall in 3Q
Emerging markets, such as the one in China, saved Philips from a bleak showing in the healthcare marketplace last quarter. The growth was not enough to keep the company in the black, however, even just in this sector. Financials released Oct. 12 for 3Q09 show that Philips suffered a 4% decline year-over-year in healthcare sales globally. Leading the trouble areas were declines in the U.S. in imaging systems, clinical care systems, and patient monitoring. Those losses were partially offset by double-digit growth in emerging markets, helping the healthcare business to do better than other Philips businesses.  Company-wide sales in the third quarter went down 11% compared to 3Q2008, reflecting continuing weakness in consumer and professional markets. Even so, the company managed a profitability of 6.8% of sales in the quarter, among the highest in recent years. Company execs ascribed the net profit to strong fundamentals and managing costs proactively.