Infineon Technologies AG, Europe's second-biggest semiconductor maker, reported a fourth straight loss after prices tumbled at memory-chip unit Qimonda AG, and cut its sales forecast.
The loss in the first quarter ended Dec. 31 was 396 million euros (US$579.3 million), or 53 euro cents a share, compared with a year-earlier profit of 120 million euros, or 15 euro cents a share, Infineon said in a statement yesterday.
Infineon, based in Neubiberg near Munich, said sales would rise by less than 10 percent this year excluding Qimonda, against a December forecast of as much as 10 percent.
POSTING A LOSS
The communication division, which makes custom chips for Nokia Oyj's mobile phones, is expected to post a loss this year before interest, taxes and one-time items.
Qimonda last month reported a first-quarter loss of 598 million euros as memory-chip prices tumbled amid a supply glut.
"The outlook is somewhat disappointing," said Ernst Konrad, who helps oversee 24 billion euros as head of equities at BayernInvest in Munich, including Infineon stock. "They lowered their 2008 sales forecast from my point of view, and that's not really good."
Infineon's sales sank 25 percent to 1.6 billion euros.
The company in December had forecast a profit for the communication division.
For the automotive and industrial division, whose clients include Siemens AG, Infineon confirmed that the December forecast for sales and earnings would be "slightly" down from a year earlier.
Excluding Qimonda, Infineon continues to aim for a 10 percent margin on earnings before interest and tax next year, Infineon chief executive officer Wolfgang Ziebart said.
"Uncertain prospects for the global economy, the adverse currency development, and the revised outlook are headwinds that make reaching this goal more challenging," he said.
MARGIN ON EARNINGS
Infineon's margin on earnings before interest, taxes and one-time items would be a "low to mid single-digit" percentage of sales this year, also excluding Qimonda.
Last month, Qimonda reduced its target for capital expenditure by 250 million euros for this year after putting the construction of a production site in Singapore on hold until after market conditions improve.
Prices for benchmark dynamic random access memory chips tumbled as much as 85 percent last year as supply outweighed demand, according to Dramexchange Technology Inc.
SETBACK: Apple’s India iPhone push has been disrupted after Foxconn recalled hundreds of Chinese engineers, amid Beijing’s attempts to curb tech transfers Apple Inc assembly partner Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), also known internationally as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), has recalled about 300 Chinese engineers from a factory in India, the latest setback for the iPhone maker’s push to rapidly expand in the country. The extraction of Chinese workers from the factory of Yuzhan Technology (India) Private Ltd, a Hon Hai component unit, in southern Tamil Nadu state, is the second such move in a few months. The company has started flying in Taiwanese engineers to replace staff leaving, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named, as the
The prices of gasoline and diesel at domestic fuel stations are to rise NT$0.1 and NT$0.4 per liter this week respectively, after international crude oil prices rose last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to rise to NT$27.3, NT$28.8 and NT$30.8 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to rise to NT$26.2 per liter at CPC stations and NT$26 at Formosa pumps, they said. The announcements came after international crude oil prices
A German company is putting used electric vehicle batteries to new use by stacking them into fridge-size units that homes and businesses can use to store their excess solar and wind energy. This week, the company Voltfang — which means “catching volts” — opened its first industrial site in Aachen, Germany, near the Belgian and Dutch borders. With about 100 staff, Voltfang says it is the biggest facility of its kind in Europe in the budding sector of refurbishing lithium-ion batteries. Its CEO David Oudsandji hopes it would help Europe’s biggest economy ween itself off fossil fuels and increasingly rely on climate-friendly renewables. While
SinoPac Financial Holdings Co (永豐金控) is weighing whether to add a life insurance business to its portfolio, but would tread cautiously after completing three acquisitions in quick succession, president Stanley Chu (朱士廷) said yesterday. “We are carefully considering whether life insurance should play a role in SinoPac’s business map,” Chu told reporters ahead of an earnings conference. “Our priority is to ensure the success of the deals we have already made, even though we are tracking some possible targets.” Local media have reported that Mercuries Life Insurance Co (三商美邦人壽), which is seeking buyers amid financial strains, has invited three financial
RSS