Philips delivers Q2 sales of EUR 4.4 billion, with 6% comparable sales decrease; income from continuing operations of EUR 213 million, Adjusted EBITA margin of 9.5% and operating cash flow of EUR 558 million

 Jul 20, 2020 Philips' Second Quarter Results 2020
Philips delivers Q2 sales of EUR 4.4 billion, with 6% comparable sales decrease; income from continuing operations of EUR 213 million, Adjusted EBITA margin of 9.5% and operating cash flow of EUR 558 million 

Second-quarter highlights

• Sales amounted to EUR 4.4 billion, with a 6% comparable sales decrease
• Comparable order intake increased 27%
• Income from continuing operations was EUR 213 million, compared to EUR 260 million in Q2 2019
• Adjusted EBITA margin was 9.5% of sales, compared to 11.8% of sales in Q2 2019
• Income from operations amounted to EUR 229 million, compared to EUR 350 million in Q2 2019
• EPS from continuing operations (diluted) amounted to EUR 0.23; Adjusted EPS amounted to EUR 0.35, compared to EUR 0.42 in Q2 2019
• Operating cash flow improved to EUR 558 million, compared to EUR 390 million in Q2 2019
• Free cash flow increased to EUR 311 million, compared to EUR 174 million in Q2 2019 

Frans van Houten, CEO: 

“As the global societal and economic impact of the COVID-19 outbreak intensified in the second quarter of 2020, we continued to focus on our triple duty of care: meeting critical customer needs, safeguarding the #health and safety of our employees, and ensuring business continuity. In close collaboration with our suppliers and partners, we have steeply ramped up the production volumes of acute care products and solutions to help diagnose, treat, monitor and manage COVID-19 patients. Our field service engineers have been supporting healthcare providers around the world throughout these testing times. Under the circumstances, I am pleased at the way we have performed and I am grateful and proud of how all our employees have stepped up. 

In the quarter, Philips' sales declined 6% on a comparable basis and we delivered an Adjusted EBITA margin of 9.5%. Comparable order intake grew a further 27% on the back of double-digit growth in the previous quarter, driven by CT imaging systems, hospital ventilators and patient monitors. As anticipated, COVID-19 caused a steep decrease in consumer demand and postponement of installations in hospitals, as well as elective procedures, resulting in a 19% comparable sales decrease for our Personal #health businesses and a 9% decline for our Diagnosis & Treatment businesses. This was partly offset by a strong 14% comparable sales growth for our Connected Care businesses. 

We expect to return to growth and improved profitability for the Group in the second half of the year, assuming we can convert our existing order book for the Diagnosis & Treatment and Connected Care businesses, elective procedures normalize, and consumer demand gradually improves. Consequently, for the full year 2020 we continue to aim for a modest comparable sales growth and Adjusted EBITA margin improvement. 

Looking ahead, our mission is more relevant than ever. Our strategy to transform the delivery of care along the #health continuum, leveraging informatics and remote care capabilities, along with our innovative systems and services, has been validated during this crisis. I am convinced that #philips is well positioned to serve the current and future needs of hospitals and #health systems.” 

Business segment performance 

The Diagnosis & Treatment businesses recorded a 9% comparable sales decline due to the postponement of installations and elective procedures. Although Diagnostic Imaging sales were in line with Q2 2019, Ultrasound showed a mid-single-digit decrease, and Image-Guided Therapy a double-digit decline. Comparable order intake showed a double-digit decrease. The Adjusted EBITA margin decreased to 8.6%, mainly due to the sales decline. 

Comparable sales in the Connected Care businesses increased 14%, with double-digit growth in Sleep & Respiratory Care and mid- single-digit growth in Monitoring & Analytics. Comparable order intake more than doubled, driven by strong demand for patient monitors and hospital ventilators. The Adjusted EBITA margin increased to 17.8%, as additional investments to ramp up production were more than offset by operating leverage. 

The Personal #health businesses recorded a comparable sales decline of 19%, with all businesses declining due to significantly decreased consumer demand. The Adjusted EBITA margin declined to 5.6%, due to the sales decline, partly offset by cost savings. 

Philips’ ongoing focus on innovation and partnerships resulted in the following key developments in the quarter: 

• Highlighting its strength in strategic partnerships to enhance patient care and improve care provider productivity, #philips signed 14 new agreements in the quarter. For example, #philips and the US Department of Veterans Affairs entered a 10-year agreement to expand their tele-critical care program, creating the world’s largest system to provide veterans with remote access to intensive care expertise, regardless of their location. In the Netherlands, #philips and Flevo Hospital signed a 10-year strategic partnership agreement to support precision diagnosis and optimize workflows and patient pathways, while driving efficiencies and cost optimization.
• In collaboration with its partners and suppliers, #philips tripled the production of its hospital ventilators in the quarter and is on track to achieve the planned four-fold increase to 4,000 units per week in July 2020, supporting the treatment of COVID-19 patients in the most affected regions around the world.
• Philips launched several new monitoring solutions for the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), the general ward and the home that feature remote monitoring capabilities and advanced analytics. These include Philips’ IntelliVue Patient Monitors MX750/MX850 for the ICU, Philips’ Biosensor BX100 for early patient deterioration detection in the general ward, and in collaboration with BioIntelliSense, the BioSticker medical device to help monitor at-risk patients from the hospital to the home.
• University of Kentucky HealthCare teamed up with #philips to implement the company’s tele-ICU technology to enhance patient care and improve utilization and patient flows across 160 ICU beds at the academic medical center’s two hospitals. Leveraging Philips’ acute telehealth platform, eCareManager, UK HealthCare is implementing the state’s first centralized virtual care model to help nurses detect risk of patient deterioration, so they can intervene earlier and help improve care outcomes.
• Philips received an industry-first 510(k) clearance from the FDA to market a wide range of its ultrasound solutions – including CX50 and Lumify – for the management of COVID-19-related lung and cardiac complications. Portable ultrasound solutions in particular have become valuable tools for clinicians treating COVID-19 patients, due to their imaging capabilities, portability and ease of disinfection.
• Supporting the increased demand for flexible ICU capacity, #philips introduced its new mobile ICUs in India. The ICUs can be furnished with a range of medical equipment, including ventilators, defibrillators, and patient monitoring. In the Philippines, #philips introduced a modular diagnostic imaging cabin with a CT or diagnostic X-ray system for rapid deployment.
• Complementing #philips Sonicare’s existing teledentistry services for patients, #philips and dental technology company Toothpic announced a new teledentistry platform for dental professionals. The multi-service platform provides a tool to build direct patient engagement, acquisition and retention while improving office efficiency, in-chair time and remote care. 

Cost savings 

In the second quarter, procurement savings amounted to EUR 57 million. Overhead and other productivity programs delivered savings of EUR 51 million. As a result, #philips is on track to deliver over EUR 400 million productivity savings for 2020 and EUR 1.8 billion productivity savings for the Group for the 2017-2020 period.

Executive Committee update 

On July 16, #philips announced the appointment of Deeptha Khanna as the Chief Business Leader of the Personal #health businesses, effective July 20, 2020, and the appointment of Edwin Paalvast as Chief of International Markets, effective August 1, 2020.  Ms. Khanna and Mr. Paalvast will become members of Philips’ Executive Committee, reporting to #philips CEO #fransvanhouten. 

Ms. Khanna joins #philips from Johnson & Johnson to lead its Personal #health businesses, which were temporarily led by #fransvanhouten. Mr. Paalvast joins #philips from Cisco Systems, and will succeed current Chief of International Markets Henk de Jong, who has been appointed as CEO of Philips’ EUR 2.3 billion Domestic Appliances business, effective August 1, 2020. As announced in January 2020, the Domestic Appliances business is being separated from #philips, a process that is expected to be completed in the third  quarter of 2021. Mr. de Jong will continue to report to #fransvanhouten and remain a member of the Executive  Committee. 

Capital allocation 

Share buyback program

At the end of the first quarter of 2020, #philips had completed 50.3% of its EUR 1.5 billion share buyback program for capital reduction purposes that was announced on January 29, 2019. In line with the company’s announcement on March 23, 2020, #philips has executed the second half of the program through individual forward transactions with settlement dates extending into the second half of 2021. 

Share cancellation

In June 2020, #philips completed the cancellation of 3,809,675 shares that were acquired as part of the share buyback program mentioned above. 

Dividend

In July 2020, #philips issued a total number of 18,080,198 new common shares for settlement of the 2019 dividend. After deduction of treasury shares, this results in a total number of outstanding shares of 909,395,209, compared to 909,194,188 shares in 2019 following the settlement of the 2018 dividend. 

Regulatory update 

Philips’ Emergency Care and Resuscitation (ECR) business resumed manufacturing and shipping of external defibrillators for the US, following notification from the FDA that the injunction prohibiting those activities has been lifted. #philips continues to comply with the terms of the Consent Decree, which remains in effect, and includes ongoing regulatory compliance monitoring and facility inspections of the ECR business and of Philips’ other patient care businesses by the FDA. In connection with the ECR portfolio, #philips received FDA pre-market approval (PMA) for the HeartStart FR3 [1] and HeartStart FRx [2] automated external defibrillators (AEDs), and their supporting accessories, including batteries and pads. 

In connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, #philips is working with the FDA’s Emergency Response and Product Evaluation teams to provide them with relevant information, such as Philips’ production ramp-up and availability of acute care products and solutions to combat COVID-19. #philips has obtained authorizations through the FDA’s Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) process for the expanded use of several of its devices during the COVID-19 public #health emergency, including for the #philips IntelliVue Patient Monitors MX750/MX850 and its IntelliVue Active Displays AD75/AD85. Moreover, #philips has received FDA 510(k) clearances to market its Biosensor BX100 for early patient deterioration detection in the general ward, and to market a wide range of its ultrasound solutions for the management of COVID-19-related lung and cardiac complications. 

[1] Model 861388 and Model 861389

[2] Model 861304