(Reuters) -Dutch healthcare technology company Philips forecast a growth of 1% to 3% in 2025 comparable sales on Wednesday after missing market expectations for the final quarter of last year partly due to a double-digit decline in China.
The forecast includes a mid- to high-single-digit decline in China sales and the impact of recently announced tariffs by the U.S. and China, the group said in a statement.
Total sales came in at 5.04 billion euros ($5.27 billion) for the quarter ended December. Analysts, on average, had forecast sales of 5.07 billion euros, according to a poll provided by Philips.
The group, which sells products ranging from toothbrushes to medical imaging systems, had cut its 2024 sales forecast in October, following a significant slump in China demand in the third quarter.
Group CEO Roy Jakobs said in January he expected China to account for around 10% of revenues, down from over 13% earlier in the decade.
Philips employs more than 7,000 people in the country.
The group said its adjusted earnings before interest, tax, and amortisation (EBITA) came in at 679 million euros for the December quarter, slightly below the 683 million euros analysts had expected.
The company proposed an annual dividend of 0.85 euros per share, in line with the dividend it paid out for 2023.
($1 = 0.9562 euros)
(Reporting by Alessandro Parodi in Gdansk; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
