Infineon Technologies AG reported revenue that missed analysts’ expectations after the hoped-for resurgence in the electric vehicle (EV) market was delayed.
Sales fell 9.5 percent to 3.7 billion euros (US$4.1 billion) in the past quarter from the same period a year ago, the company said yesterday. That compared to the average 3.79 billion analyst forecast compiled by Bloomberg.
Infineon’s segment result margin, a measure of profitability, was 19.8 percent for the quarter, in line with analysts’ estimates.
Photo: Michaela Rehle, Reuters
Infineon is among the European chipmakers that specialize in making the type of chips used in cars and have grown especially dependent on automakers for their sales.
The company, alongside peers STMicroelectronics NV and NXP Semiconductors NV, has been affected by the auto industry’s pullback from EVs, which in turn has been driven by higher interest rates, weaker-than-expected economic growth and a continued lack of charging stations.
“Prolonged weak economic momentum has resulted in inventory levels in many areas overlaying end demand,” Infineon CEO Jochen Hanebeck said. “In addition to managing the current demand cycle, we are working on further strengthening our competitiveness.”
Infineon said it forecast revenue this quarter to drop from a year earlier to about 4 billion euros, and anticipates a segment result margin of about 20 percent. Analysts had anticipated revenue of 3.94 billion euros and segment result margin of about 22 percent.
Sales from Infineon’s automotive business, its largest, were 2.11 billion euros last quarter. That compared to 2.13 billion euros a year earlier, but was a sequential improvement from the previous quarter, because of an increase in “software-defined” vehicles, the company said.
These cars use Infineon’s chips to help run systems that connect sensors and computers inside vehicles.
Infineon also said it would slash 1,400 jobs and relocate 1,400 more due to a tough market environment.
The job cuts, from a workforce of about 58,600 worldwide, are part of a company-wide restructuring that was launched in May.
The program is aimed at "strengthening our competitiveness," Hanebeck said.
Additional reporting by AFP
To many, Tatu City on the outskirts of Nairobi looks like a success. The first city entirely built by a private company to be operational in east Africa, with about 25,000 people living and working there, it accounts for about two-thirds of all foreign investment in Kenya. Its low-tax status has attracted more than 100 businesses including Heineken, coffee brand Dormans, and the biggest call-center and cold-chain transport firms in the region. However, to some local politicians, Tatu City has looked more like a target for extortion. A parade of governors have demanded land worth millions of dollars in exchange
An Indonesian animated movie is smashing regional box office records and could be set for wider success as it prepares to open beyond the Southeast Asian archipelago’s silver screens. Jumbo — a film based on the adventures of main character, Don, a large orphaned Indonesian boy facing bullying at school — last month became the highest-grossing Southeast Asian animated film, raking in more than US$8 million. Released at the end of March to coincide with the Eid holidays after the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, the movie has hit 8 million ticket sales, the third-highest in Indonesian cinema history, Film
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) revenue jumped 48 percent last month, underscoring how electronics firms scrambled to acquire essential components before global tariffs took effect. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp reported monthly sales of NT$349.6 billion (US$11.6 billion). That compares with the average analysts’ estimate for a 38 percent rise in second-quarter revenue. US President Donald Trump’s trade war is prompting economists to retool GDP forecasts worldwide, casting doubt over the outlook for everything from iPhone demand to computing and datacenter construction. However, TSMC — a barometer for global tech spending given its central role in the
Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designer specializing in server chips, expects revenue to decline this year due to sagging demand for 5-nanometer artificial intelligence (AI) chips from a North America-based major customer, a company executive said yesterday. That would be the first contraction in revenue for Alchip as it has been enjoying strong revenue growth over the past few years, benefiting from cloud-service providers’ moves to reduce dependence on Nvidia Corp’s expensive AI chips by building their own AI accelerator by outsourcing chip design. The 5-nanometer chip was supposed to be a new growth engine as the lifecycle
RSS