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

AMSTERDAM – 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."