Signify beats Q3 profit forecasts as €28m US tariff refund lifts earnings

Signify, the world’s largest lighting maker, beat third-quarter core profit expectations on Friday, helped by an extraordinary US tariff refund and reduced costs of sales, Reuters reports.

The Amsterdam-listed group (LIGHT.AS) posted quarterly adjusted EBITA of €145 million (about $163 million), above the €113 million average analyst forecast in a company-compiled poll. The tariff refund delivered a €28 million benefit, or 2.1 percentage points of margin, taking the quarterly adjusted EBITA margin to 10.6%, the company said in its third-quarter statement.

Following the refund, Signify now expects to reach the top end of its annual guidance range for adjusted EBITA margin of 7.5% to 8.5%. Quarterly sales fell to €1.37 billion, in line with expectations, with comparable sales down 3.4%, and the company still expects persistently challenging market conditions in its European and US businesses.

Signify spun off from Philips in 2016. Earlier this year it announced a new dividend policy and medium-term targets that failed to convince investors of an imminent turnaround; its turnaround plan includes a portfolio review reducing in-house manufacturing of standard lighting products amid Chinese overcapacity.