Philips reports falling sales

Further evidence of a decline in electrical goods sales emerged today with lightbulbs-to-TV firm Philips warning on profits amid worse-than-expected demand in western Europe.

The Amsterdam-based company said its lighting arm, the biggest lightbulb maker in the world, will report low, single-digit, like-for-like sales growth in the second quarter of 2011 and that its margins are under pressure from lower consumer spending.