By Bart H. Meijer

Amsterdam: Dutch medical device manufacturer philips said on Monday that it had agreed to pay $1.1 billion as a settlement personal injury cases relating to the united states Global recall of ventilators Used to treat sleep apnea.

The company said it did not admit any fault or liability, but the settlement would end uncertainty over the US litigation.

Amsterdam-based Philips is grappling with the fallout from recalling millions of breathing devices and ventilators over three years because of fears large litigation bills It lost about two-thirds of its market value.

The devices were recalled in April 2021 due to concerns that the foam used in them could degrade and be toxic Potential cancer risks,

Philips earlier this month announced the final details of a consent decree it reached with US authorities in January, detailing improvements to be made at its Respironics plants in the United States.

“Approved consent decree and now resolves personal injury and medical surveillance lawsuit “These are important milestones in the US and provide further clarity on the path forward for Philips,” said CEO Roy Jacobs.

Philips said it has settled with insurers on compensation of 540 million euros ($580 million) for product liability costs, which will be received in the second quarter of 2024.

It has made a provision of 982 million euros in the first quarter results for the disposal payment, which is expected to be met from cash flow next year.

Philips also reported its first-quarter earnings on Monday, which were better than analyst expectations Core profit rose 8 percent to 388 million euros.

In a survey compiled by the company, analysts said on average estimated adjusted earnings EBITDA before interest, taxes and amortization (EBITDA) of 361 million euros, almost flat from a year earlier.

Comparable sales growth of 2.4 percent was in line with expectations, resulting in a better-than-expected 9.4 percent profit margin.

However, order intake continued to decline due to slower sales in China and was down 3.8 percent compared to the first three months of 2023.

“We started the year exactly as we planned,” Jacobs said. “With order intake growth outside China being positive strong margin improvement,

($1=0.9317 euros)

(Reporting by Bart Meijer; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Subhranshu Sahu)