PARIS (Standard&Poor's) Oct. 17, 2001--Following the announcement by Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Philips) of weak third-quarter results and an expected net loss for the fourth quarter of 2001, Standard&Poor's today revised its outlook on the company to negative from stable. At the same time, the company's single-'A'-minus long-term corporate credit and senior unsecured debt ratings and 'A-2' short-term corporate credit and commercial paper ratings were affirmed. The action reflects the deterioration in Philips' profitability and cash flow measures over the past nine months as the result of very difficult conditions in its semiconductor, component, and consumer-electronics divisions. The events of Sept. 11, 2001, may further delay the recovery of these markets, which together represented about 60%
