Philips shares leap 8% on second-quarter progress in North America

Shares of Dutch device maker Philips jumped more than 8.5% in early deals Monday after the company reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings.

Shares pared gains slightly to trade up 7.83% by 8:25 a.m. London time.

Comparable group sales rose 2% to 4.5 billion euros ($4.88 billion), as demand in North America held strong, even as China sales dipped. The company’s comparable order intake over the three-month period grew by 9%.

“I am encouraged by our return to order intake growth this quarter, primarily driven by North America. Within a challenging macro environment we achieved strong margin improvement, supported by our productivity program, solid operational cashflow due to improved working capital management and comparable sales growth in line with our plan,” CEO Roy Jakobs said in a statement.

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