Defibrillators

The company had been expected to report first-quarter EBITA of 302.7 million euros in the period, the survey showed.

The company made "strong progress'' in the quarter toward meeting its targets of between 5 and 6 percent average annual sales growth and EBITA of above 7.5 percent of sales, according to the statement.

Philips "feels good'' about the full-year sales forecast, chief financial officer Pierre-Jean Sivignon said in an interview.

Philips said last month it plans to have sold its entire stake in TSMC, the world's largest maker of custom-made chips, by 2010 after last year's sale of a majority stake in its chip unit to a group of buyout firms.

First-quarter sales at consumer electronics, the largest division by revenue, fell 8.9 percent to 2.21 billion euros as the World Cup spurred revenue in the year-earlier period.

EBITA as a percentage of sales rose to 1.5 percent from 1.4 percent a year earlier.

The company repeated a goal for profitability of about 3 percent this year for the division.

The company, Europe's biggest maker of televisions, in January forecast a "challenging" first quarter for the unit as prices of flat-panel televisions decline.

Philips owns a third of LG.Philips LCD...

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