Lighting maker Signify fourth-quarter earnings beat, sees steady margins

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Signify, the world's largest maker of lights, on Friday reported a better-than-expected rise in fourth-quarter core earnings, despite falling sales, and retained its margin forecast for 2019.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes and amortisation (EBITA), for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2018, came in at 214 million euros ($244.75 million), compared with 207 million euros in the year-ago period. Sales dropped to 1.73 million euros from 1.89 billion euros.

Analysts polled for Reuters had forecast EBITA at 166 million euros and sales at 1.77 billion euros.

Signify, the former lighting division of Philips, was spun off as an independent company in 2016.

(Reporting by Toby Sterling, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)