Germany's Infineon today said it saw sales and earnings declining further in the current quarter amid a continued slowdown in global semiconductor demand.
Chief Executive Wolfgang Ziebart said the microchip firm would reduce costs by €200 million more than originally planned in its current financial year to September to secure the company's mid- and long-term future.
"The outlook was a disappointment," said HSBC analyst Thomas Becker. "The shares are certain to react negatively at the open but downside is limited as the stock after all already trades below its book value."
Infineon shares fell 1.7 per cent to €7.06 in early trading, adding to a loss of 4 per cent of their value since its January 12th profit warning.
The company had warned two weeks ago that profits and sales for its fiscal first quarter to December would be below market expectations, as a weak US dollar exacerbated the effect of slow demand.
This morning it confirmed that earnings before interest and tax for the quarter almost doubled quarter-on-quarter to €211 million but sales fell 9 per cent to €1.82 billion. Net income more than tripled to €142 million.
This month has seen a flurry of warnings from chipmakers as they reported slower demand from their clients - the makers of personal computers, mobile phones and consumer electronics.