Philips chip sales to rise as much as 5 percent in Q1

Royal Philips Electronics NV, Europe's No. 3 semiconductor maker, will see chip sales rise as much as 5 percent in the first quarter from the previous quarter as demand increases, Het Financieele Dagblad reported, citing a Philips executive.

Second-quarter semiconductor sales will also likely rise from the first, the unit's CFO Jan Lobbezoo said yesterday at a conference, according to the paper. Philips expected chip sales to rise as much as 2 percent from the fourth quarter, CFO Jan Hommen said last month.