Philips Electronics 2nd- profit falls 94%, Sees improvement in 2nd half

Royal Philips Electronics, the world's biggest lighting maker, reported a 94% fall in net profit for the 2nd-Q, due to weak sales in the global economic downturn & asset divestments in the 2nd-Q '08. Net profit was euro44M ($61.4M) down from euro732M. Sales fell 19% to euro5.23B. Philips booked net gains of euro533M in the 2nd-Q 2008 after selling shares of Taiwan computer chip maker TSMC. "We didn't see a material improvement in consumer or professional markets in the past 3 months," CEO Gerard Kleisterlee said. He said it remains "cautious about overall economy & markets we're operating in." However, its performance would be better in the 2nd half than the 1st due to cost-cutting programs & -- possibly -- some recovery in sales. Shares closed 6.5% higher at euro13.79 in Amsterdam. "Though sharply down compared to '08, results can be seen as something of a relief compared to expectation," analyst Eric de Graaf of Petercam Bank said. Philips cut 11,800 jobs since the 2nd-Q