Philips’ investors can ill-afford another jolt to their nerves

{"text":[[{"start":8.440000000000001,"text":"Some companies, it seems, receive the benefit of the doubt even if their performance is a little ho-hum. "},{"start":14.282,"text":"They can, for example, highlight weak Chinese demand and get away with a mere share price ripple. "},{"start":19.924,"text":"Other stocks take a razor-sharp cut on every lump and bump. "}],[{"start":23.59,"text":"Philips is a case in point. "},{"start":25.719,"text":"Investors in the Dutch healthcare conglomerate, which makes everything from diagnostic machines to electric shavers, had until this week been enjoying a restorative patch. "},{"start":34.149,"text":"Legal woes over malfunctioning sleep apnoea machines had been resolved faster and more cheaply than feared, and sales seemed to be heading in the right direction. "}],[{"start":42.980000000000004,"text":"But a stumble has undone much of the progress. "},{"start":45.834,"text":"Philips’ stock has fallen 15 per cent since it released soft third-quarter results on Monday. "},{"start":51.014,"text":"While Italy’s Agnelli family — who made a big investment in the stock in August 2023 through their public vehicle Exor — is still in the money, this week marks a blow for those who had more recently got behind Philips’ turnaround story. "}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":63.74000000000001,"text":"Investors must be wondering what exactly hit them. "},{"start":66.85700000000001,"text":"The issues Philips highlighted at third-quarter results are hardly unheard of. "},{"start":70.74900000000001,"text":"An anti-corruption drive at Chinese hospitals is slowing procurement of diagnostics machines — a headwind that drove guidance downgrades at rivals Siemens Healthineers and GE Healthcare after second-quarter results, points out Lisa Clive at Bernstein. "},{"start":83.492,"text":"And while a double-digit fall in personal care sales in China is surprising in its magnitude, the weakness of Chinese consumer demand has been widely flagged across industries. "}],[{"start":92.74000000000001,"text":"Meanwhile, results outside China are strong. "},{"start":96.10700000000001,"text":"Operating margins remain healthy despite slower than expected sales. "},{"start":100.099,"text":"Philips does not look expensive, either. "},{"start":102.89200000000001,"text":"It trades on 15 times next year’s — reduced — earnings expectations despite double-digit EPS growth through to 2026, on Barclays estimates. "},{"start":112.00900000000001,"text":"Siemens Healthineers trades on more than 19 times. "}],[{"start":116.04,"text":"The best explanation for the share price reaction is that Philips is suffering from sticky negative sentiment, a malady that can afflict companies that have severely spooked the market in recent history. "}],[{"start":125.86000000000001,"text":"Curing it requires not just solving one problem, no matter how major. "},{"start":130.16400000000002,"text":"It requires solving all of them. "},{"start":132.157,"text":"That’s something that GSK, reporting on Wednesday, will be acutely aware of. "},{"start":136.84900000000002,"text":"Following the resolution of the Zantac heartburn medicine legal overhang, analysts are now fretting over the strength of its vaccine sales. "}],[{"start":144.82000000000002,"text":"Traumatised investors require a long period of peace and quiet to recover their composure. "},{"start":150.01200000000003,"text":"Philips cannot afford another jolt to their nerves. "}],[{"start":152.77,"text":""}]],"url":"https://creatives.ftmailbox.cn/album/177994-1730251839.mp3"}