Net profit slumps at electronics giant Philips due to lower sales, restructuring costs

Royal Philips NV, the world's biggest lighting maker, says its net profit slumped in 2014's fourth quarter to 134 million euros ($ 151 million) from 412 million euros a year earlier as sales declined and restructuring costs hit earnings.

The company announced Tuesday that sales for the group dropped two percent to 6.5 billion euros ($7.3 billion), as a six percent rise in sales at its consumer lifestyle division didn't fully offset sales drops in the two other major divisions — lighting and health care.

Chief Executive Officer Frans van Houten says 2014 as a whole "was a setback in our performance trajectory" and adds that the company remains cautious about the global economic outlook and expects "ongoing volatility in some of our end markets."