Technology group Philips said on Monday it had booked a 1% rise in sales in the first quarter of 2013, while net profit fell €28m to €162m compared with the previous year.

The figures are better than forecast in a Bloomberg poll of analysts last week. Operational profit was up 31% at €421m and the net profit was ‘significantly better than Q1 2012 excluding one-off gains,’ Philips said.

‘We reiterate our view of a slow first half to 2013, due to adverse market trends, especially in Europe and the US,’ chief executive Frans van Houten said in a statement.