...Fitch Ratings affirmed the ratings of Royal Philips driven by our expectation that Philips' credit profile w ill remain in line w ith the group's ratings, follow ing the completed transformation into a healthcare player through divestments of non-core operations. Fitch expects the group's more active approach to M&A to have a limited negative impact on leverage metrics in the short to medium term as mainly smaller bolt-on acquisitions are expected. Fitch forecasts funds from operations (FFO) adjusted net leverage at 1.5x -2.0x in the medium term, w hich is broadly commensurate w ith the `A' rating median for diversified industrial companies. It is supported by Philips ' higher-than- average profitability and stronger FFO generation than diversified industrial peers'....
