Philips posts 7th quarterly loss
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Kleisterlee says there has been no improvement in the global economy.
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AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (CNN) -- Philips Electronics, Europe's biggest consumer electronics company, posted its seventh quarterly loss in two years as it closed plants in an effort to restore profitability.
The Dutch company said on Tuesday it made a net loss of 69 million euros ($74 million) in the first three months of this year -- in line with expectations. That compares to a profit of 9 million euros in the same period last year.
Sales fell 14 percent to 6.5 billion euros, lower than analysts' expectations. The company blamed the strengthening of the euro against the U.S. dollar for the decline.
"Seasonality and the weaker U.S. dollar, coupled with declining consumer confidence, especially affecting consumer electronics, resulted in significantly lower sales levels,'' Philips Chief Executive Gerard Kleisterlee said in a statement.
The company warned it saw no short-term improvement in the global economy.
But it reiterated that its troubled chips business, Europe's third biggest, would return to profitability in the fourth quarter.
The conglomerate, well known for its light bulbs, shavers, toasters and televisions, has been streamlining its loss-making chip business as the industry goes through its worst-ever downturn.
Philips had one of its worst years ever in 2002 as it posted losses of 3.2 billion euros ($3.5 billion).
Philips has cut more than 19,000 jobs since the first quarter of 2002, including 3,693 in the last three months.
