Philips 2009 Annual Report Download - page 81

4.5 Outlook
We expect the upward trend in emerging markets to
continue, supporting all three operating sectors. In the US
we anticipate that the market headwind caused by the
uncertainty around potential healthcare reform will ease
off. A significant part of our Lighting business – particularly
Professional Luminaires – is highly correlated to
commercial construction, a market we have yet to see
recover.
This said, visibility beyond the short term remains low and
so we will continue our focus on cost (we expect limited
restructuring in the range of EUR 150-250 million for the
year 2010, predominantly in Lighting) and on cash. At the
same time we will ensure that our businesses are well
placed to capture growth when it comes, not least by
maintaining investments in innovation, marketing and
emerging markets.
We remain very much committed to delivering an EBITA
profitability of 10% or better. We were encouraged by
our performance in the fourth quarter of 2009 – in what
was still a tough economic climate – and are confident that
2010 will represent another solid step towards this target.
Naturally, the magnitude of the improvement over the full
year is dependent – in part at least – on the developments
in the global economy.
Amsterdam, February 22, 2010
Board of Management
4 Our group performance 4.5 - 4.5
Philips Annual Report 2009 81