Phillips said both core earnings and comparable sales had increased 7% in the last three months of 2020.

That was driven by a jump of almost a quarter in sales as it's connected care division, which supplies respiratory machines as well as monitoring and software platforms that allow remote care.

Adjusted earnings rose to $1.39 billion between October and December.

That continues the strong recovery underway in the previous quarter, when hospitals rushed to buy equipment to treat covert 19.

But the company's CEO warned of some challenges.

A fresh wave of global infections is leading hospitals to delay elective procedures on the installation of new equipment in other areas.

But he remained upbeat for the year ahead, saying orders were only pushed back and not canceled.