Philips sets aside 575 mln euros for litigation costs
Reports a much better than expected rise in Q1 core profit
Shares jump 13

AMSTERDAM, April 24 Reuters Philips shares jumped 13 on Monday as the Dutch health technology company reported much better than expected firstquarter results and said it had set aside 575 million euros 631 million related to lawsuits over its recall of respiratory devices.

Amsterdambased Philips has been grappling with the fallout of the global recall of millions of respirators used to treat sleep apnoea since it was announced in June 2021 over worries that foam used in the machines could become toxic.

The recall has knocked off around 70 of Philips39; market value since then as investors feared the costs of a string of U.S. classaction lawsuits launched by patients who claim to have suffered economic losses due to the use of the device.

We are happy we can solve this case, CEO Roy Jakobs said about the provision for the settlement Philips expects to reach in the current quarter.

We will continue to work on finding solutions for the other cases.

Analysts, however, warned that much remained unclear regarding the total costs of the recall.

Philips still has to reach a settlement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration FDA and is also facing lawsuits from individual patients over health problems they claim were caused by the devices.

The more significant medical litigation risk and the consent decree impact remain, ING analysts said…