Philips highlights positive growth trends in 2012

Philips has expressed satisfaction with the performance of its business units during the fourth-quarter and full-year periods of 2012.

The multinational electronics conglomerate generated 24.8 billion euros (21.38 billion pounds) over the 12 months, which represented a nominal year-on-year increase of ten percent and a comparable rise of four percent.

Its healthcare division was one of the business units to benefit, seeing a six percent annual improvement thanks to rising demand for home healthcare systems, customer services, imaging systems and patient care and clinical informatics.

The firm also made progress with its Accelerate! programme, which is aimed at improving the efficiency of the business.

Frans van Houten, chief executive officer of Royal Philips Electronics, said: "We remain confident in our ability to further improve our operational and financial performance, enabling us to achieve our 2013 financial targets."

Philips employs approximately 116,000 members of staff in more than 60 countries worldwide and is a market leader in cardiac care, acute care and home healthcare, among other areas.