AMSTERDAM/FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Strong business figures from medical technology group Philips boosted the entire sector on Monday. At Drägerwerk, a positive analyst comment was added.

In the morning, Philips shares had soared by almost 14 percent to 19.73 euros, their highest level since August last year. At midday, they were still up by more than twelve percent. This made them by far the best performer in the Dutch benchmark index AEX. The latter was hardly changed recently.

Philips performed unexpectedly well in the first quarter in day-to-day business. Nevertheless, the Dutch Siemens Healthineers competitor suffered a further setback due to expensive provisions below the line: it wrote deep red figures.

Given provisions for litigation in the U.S. surrounding the recall of ventilators and sleep therapy equipment, the net loss more than quadrupled compared to the same period last year. According to Veronika Dubajova, an analyst at U.S. bank Citigroup, the provisions indicate progress in the litigation, although "significant" uncertainties remain.

In day-to-day operations, however, Philips did noticeably better in sales and adjusted earnings than analysts had feared. Philips attributed this mainly to a further improvement in the parts availability situation. Comparable order intake was stable, with more orders in diagnostics and treatment offsetting weaker orders in the healthcare networking business.

Thanks mainly to the strong performance in diagnostics and treatment, Philips exceeded expectations, wrote expert James Vane-Tempest of investment firm Jefferies. On the other hand, the Dutch company mostly met expectations in its healthcare division and in its respiratory and monitoring technology business.

Analyst David Adlington from the US bank JPMorgan was somewhat more skeptical. The medical technology group had clearly exceeded its and the market expectations for the second time in a row. It is good to deliver more than promised, he said. But his confidence in the company's forward-looking statements has now declined rapidly, he said. He pointed out that Philips had not raised its full-year targets despite the strong numbers.

Despite Monday's share price jump, Philips shares are still very far from their record high of almost 51 euros reached in April 2021. For since reaching this high, the price has crumbled almost continuously, only in November last year it had found a foothold at just over 12 euros. Since then, the shares have been on the road to recovery.

From a chart perspective, the picture has also brightened considerably in the meantime. After Philips shares had already moved just above the most important short-, medium- and long-term average curves in the last three weeks, the papers have now clearly left these trend lines behind.

Here in Germany, Siemens Healthineers shares benefited from Philips' business figures, rising 2.5 percent. This put them at the top of the stagnating German benchmark index Dax. Since the beginning of the year, Siemens Healthineers shares have already gained a good 22 percent. The Dax has "only" gained 14 percent in this period.

In the significantly rising small cap index SDax, the shares of Drägerwerk rose by a good two percent to 45.70 euros and were thus among the biggest winners. The first quarter should have been a silver lining on the horizon, wrote analyst Alexander Galitsa of Hauck Aufhäuser Investment Banking after the preliminary figures of the provider of medical and safety technology. The Lübeck-based company could possibly exceed its targets for the year.

Drägerwerk's shares had soared to 46.50 euros in the morning, reaching their highest level since September 2022, reached on Tuesday last week. However, the record high of almost 124 euros from 2015 is also a long way off for Drägerwerk./la/tih/mis