The Dutch chip manufacturer NXP had a record turnover of 12.1 billion euros in 2022, 19 percent more than a year earlier. Profits increased by almost a third. The success contrasts with the situation at Philips, from which NXP emerged in 2006.
“2022 was a very good year for NXP, with record revenue, solid earnings growth and healthy free cash flow,” said NXP CEO Kurt Sievers. According to him, the chip company mainly benefited from continued strong demand for semiconductors for the automotive industry.
The former semiconductor division of Philips makes chips for numerous devices that are connected to the internet. The demand for some of those devices is very sensitive to the state of the economy. Now that inflation has risen sharply everywhere and a recession is looming in many countries, the demand for some of these devices is falling somewhat.
Philips sold all kinds of successful departments in recent decades. This resulted in billion-dollar companies such as chip machine maker ASML and chip company NXP. Both companies are now worth a multiple of Philips. ASML burped just like NXP good in 2022.
Philips now focuses mainly on the sale of healthcare technology and household appliances. On Monday, a loss of 1.6 billion euros was announced and a major reorganization was announced. Philips also struggles with high costs for recalls of sleep apnea devices.
