Philips shares rise on US order book

Philips said it expects sales growth to accelerate over the remainder of the year after US orders jumped 9% in the second quarter.

Improving business in the group’s biggest market, on top of a 15% rise in second-quarter core earnings sent Philips’ shares up as much as 4%. The Dutch health technology company, which spun off its lighting division last year to focus on medical devices and healthcare products, cautioned that markets globally remained volatile and its overall outlook for 2017 was unchanged.

In western Europe, it reported an 8% rise in second-quarter sales but a 10% drop in orders, but investors were encouraged by its performance in the US, which contributes more than a third of group revenue. US sales grew 4% in the first quarter from a year earlier, the fastest growth in more than a year and rebounding from a 2% slip in the first quarter.