Signify published the financial results of 3Q19 last week with a 5% decrease in comparable sales growth while its LED-based business improved on-year by 2.6%. The company said that the “challenging macro environment with lower market activity in Europe, U.S., Greater China as well as a major impact of tightening liquidity in India,” was a major reason for the flat sales growth.

The Dutch lighting company reported a revenue of EUR 1.53 billion (US$ 1.7 billion) in 3Q19, down by 3.3%YoY. Accumulated revenue for 2019 until the end of September came to EUR 4.5 billion (US$ 4.99 billion) with an on-year drop of 2.9%. Net profit in 3Q19 fell 20.1% to EUR 74 million (US$ 82 million) compared to EUR 93 million (US$ 103 million) in 3Q18. However, for the first nine months, Signify’s net profit grew by 18.6%YoY to EUR 169 million (US$ 187.4 million).

Despite that fierce competition in the LED industry, Signify reported that its LED lamps delivered a solid performance while sales in LED electronics continued to be impacted by lower customer demand in most regions. Sales amounted to EUR 457 million (US$ 506.7 million), an increase of 0.9% on a comparable basis.

For Signify’s Professional business which covers horticulture lighting, LiFi and IoT applications, both revenue and profit increased. Sales came to EUR 698 million (US$773.5) with a 3.5% growth and income from operations rose by 27.1% YoY in 3Q19. Driving momentum for Professional section came from solid performance in China and the Middle East but was partly offset by the tepid European and Indian Market.