Philips Lighting, the world's largest maker of lights, on Friday reported a better-than-expected rise in second-quarter core earnings, as margin improvements at its LED and home lighting businesses offset falling sales due to the ongoing decline of its traditional lamp business.



The company's adjusted earnings before interest and amortization (EBITA) rose 8 percent to 174 million euros ($202 million) in the quarter from a year earlier, on sales of 1.70 billion euros, down 2 percent.



Analysts polled by Reuters had estimated adjusted EBITA at 160 million euros.