Infineon Technologies AG, Europe's No. 2 semiconductor maker, reported a smaller-than-expected fiscal first-quarter loss as prices for computer-memory chips and demand for communications products began to recover.
The Munich-based company had a loss of 331 million euros (US$293 million), or US$0.48 a share, in the quarter through December, compared with net income of 280 million euros, or US$0.45, a year earlier, it said in a statement to the Frankfurt exchange. Analysts were expecting a 388 million-euro loss.
Infineon, which announced 5,000 job cuts last year, has been preparing for a recovery by ramping up production of smaller chips on larger wafers to reduce costs. The spot price for the benchmark memory chip has more than tripled since November.
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