PARIS (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) July 26, 2000--Standard&Poor's today raised its long-term corporate credit and senior unsecured debt ratings on Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Philips), the diversified Dutch electronics group, to single-'A'-minus from triple-'B'-plus. At the same time, the outlook was revised to stable from positive. The upgrade is supported by Philips' strong first-half 2000 operating performance--which follows significant and steady improvements over the past few years--as well as strengthening positions in several core business segments, and strong capitalization measures. These positive factors offset the group's still somewhat modest profitability--largely owing to its participation in the competitive and low-margin consumer electronics industry--as well as its exposure to the cyclical, and capital- and technology-demanding, semiconductor industry. With sales of
