Infineon beats estimates

Shares of Infineon surged more than 10 percent in Thursday morning trading after the auto and industrial chipmaker had reported its fiscal fourth-quarter operating profit rose 52 percent, helped by currency effects and the $3-billion (2.82-billion- euro) acquisition of International Rectifier.

The California-based tech company specializes in chips for power management applications.

Infineon CEO Reinhard Ploss took analysts by surprise, as the integration of the new US subsidiary paid off earlier than expected thanks to a rise in its profitabilty.

Infineon's operating profit, excluding special items, for the quarter ending in September rose to 286 million euros from 188 million last year.

That was well above the most optimistic estimates in a Reuters poll, showing an average forecast of 252 million euros, .

Optimistic outlook

Infineon, whose chips activate car airbags, enable cruise control, manage power supplies and cut vehicle emissions, said it expected first-quarter revenue to drop between 4 and 8 percent with an operating margin of 14 percent at the mid-point of that range.

For the full fiscal 2015/16 year it expected revenues to rise between 11 and 15 percent, with an operating margin of 16 percent.

Infineon came into the world in 1999 when the former semiconductor division of German technology giant Siemens was spun off in an IPO. After a rollercoaster ride in earlier years, Infineon has remained profitable for several years running.

tko/hg (Reuters, dpa)