AMSTERDAM, Feb 25 — Dutch health technology company Philips today said it expects the effects of the Covid-19 outbreak to impact its financial results in the first quarter of this year.
“The impact on public life and the industry in China is also affecting the demand for Philips’ consumer portfolio in the country and Philips’ global supply chain”, the company said.
“This is expected to have a negative impact on the financial performance of Philips in the first quarter of 2020.”
Uncertainty about further developments, however, made it impossible to say how big the impact would be and how long it would last, the company added.
Philips sells hospital equipment and personal health products ranging from large medical scanners to toothbrushes. It has around 8,000 employees in China and said it has taken precautionary measures in its Chinese factories to help prevent further outbreak of the disease.
More than 80,000 people have been infected with the coronavirus in China since the outbreak began, while the virus has recently also spread to Europe and the Middle East.
Philips said it has also donated medical equipment and supplies to the newly built Thunder God Mountain Hospital in Wuhan, the Chinese city at the centre of the outbreak, to facilitate diagnosis and treatment of people infected with the virus. — Reuters
