by Bart H. Meijer
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Philips said on Monday it had agreed to settle $1.1 billion (1.03 billion euros) in the United States in a case linked to the global recall of ventilators used to treat sleep apnea .
On the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, the group’s shares jumped 33.2% a few minutes after the opening, the cost of settlement being lower than investors expected.
“This settlement is significantly lower than expectations of $2-4 billion and, in a worst-case scenario, up to $10 billion,” Barclays analysts said.
“It comes much sooner than expected and eliminates a problem that many feared would persist for years.”
The stock reached its highest level since May 2022 on Monday, which however only represents half of its value before the recall was announced in June 2021.
Asked about the amount of the settlement, Chairman and CEO Roy Jakobs declined to confirm whether it was lower than expected, but indicated that “$1.1 billion is a significant amount, no matter how it is handled.” we present it. It is important to end the uncertainty and clarify the way forward,” he told reporters.
Philips still faces legal action in Europe over faulty devices, but the group’s executive said the settlement would end most of the uncertainty for investors.
“Totalizing all of the U.S. cases that we have now finalized, that is, economic losses, medical follow-up and personal injury, the vast majority of claims are in fact settled,” says Roy Jakobs.
(Reporting Bart Meijer, Alban Kacher, editing by Kate Entringer)
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