Dutch conglomerate Philips Electronics NV reported a bigger-than-expected fourth-quarter profit on account of robust operational earnings and reduced charges, and claimed on Monday it expects to further improve profitability this year.

The company revealed its net profit for the quarter ended Dec. 31 as $367.6 million, compared with a net loss of €1.17 billion the previous year, surpassing the analysts' expectations for net profit of €255 million. Fourth-quarter sales were €7.3 billion, slightly down from €7.6 billion a year earlier.

Electronics giant Philips announced on Monday that it pocketed 260 million euros in fourth-quarter net profit as compared with a loss of 1.18 billion euros in the year ago period.

The company said its fourth quarter net profit was driven mainly by strong improvement in operational earnings and lower charges.

However, sales dropped to settle at 7.26 billion euros in the fourth quarter, down from 7.6 billion euros in the corresponding period of last year.

Over allegations that the giant electronic gadgets manufacturer has violated the competition rules in the Cathode-Ray (CTR) industry, Philips Electronics has been slapped with a "statement of objection" by the European Commission, Europe's anti-trust regulator. Although the company has not specified the exact objection raised by the agency, it did issue a statement saying that Philips would "study the statement of objections in detail and respond accordingly".