FRANKFURT: Auto and industrial chip maker Infineon's fiscal first-quarter operating profit rose 30 percent, helped by its automotive unit, whose chips activate car airbags and enable cruise control.
The German company's operating profit, excluding special items, for the quarter ending in December rose to 220 million euros ($239.73 million) from 169 million last year.
That was above consensus for 212 million euros in a Reuters poll of 10 analysts whose forecasts ranged from 208 million to 225 million euros.
"We are doing particularly well in the automotive business," Infineon's Chief Executive Reinhard Ploss said in a statement.
"Our solutions for driver assistance systems continue to generate growth. Electromobility is gaining momentum as well."
Infineon, whose chips also manage power supplies and cut vehicle emissions, said on Tuesday it expected second-quarter revenue to rise between 1 and 5 percent quarter-on-quarter with an operating margin of 13 percent at the mid-point of that range.
For the full fiscal year 2015/16 it still expects revenues to rise between 11 and 15 percent, with an operating margin of 16 percent.
Analysts polled by Reuters expect revenues to rise by 13.3 percent to 6.57 billion euros this year, with a 16.5 percent rise in operating profit to 1.05 billion.
Shares in Infineon were indicated to open 3.3 percent lower at the bottom of the German blue chip index, which is seen 0.4 percent lower, according to pre-market data from brokerage Lang & Schwarz.
The stock has lost 9 percent so far this year, but is still up almost 50 percent from its one-year low in August.
This compares with a 6 percent drop year to date by the European technology index. The index is up less than a fifth from August last year.
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