Infineon Technologies AG reported auto sector chips have recovered better than expected since summer helping create a “very respectable” fourth fiscal quarter ending Sept. 30.
Other markets, such as factory automation chips, “are still a long way from recovery,” CEO Reinhard Ploss said in a statement issued early Monday.
The German company is the 10th largest semiconductor maker globally. Infineon finished its fiscal year at 8.5 billion Euros, or about $9.93 billion, up from $8.9 billion in 2019.
For its fourth quarter, the company had nearly 2.5 billion Euros in revenues (nearly $3 billion), an improvement of 21% over the same quarter in 2019.
The auto segment made up about 42% of total revenues at Infineon and exceeded 1 billion Euros ($1.2 billion) in the fourth quarter, an improvement of 18% over a year earlier, and 29% over the third quarter.
The 29% jump was due to a “significant recovery” in that business segment and the first full quarter that Infineon counted the consolidation of Cypress Semiconductor, which Infineon acquired in April. Also, demand was up for electric vehicle chips and microcontrollers for classical vehicle apps and driver assistance systems.
Industrial power control chips at Infineon were about 14% of its total revenues and declined by 4% over a year earlier.
Power and sensors systems comprised 31% of Infineon’s total and improved 19% over a year earlier.
Ploss said Infineon is “cautiously optimistic” for the fiscal year that started Oct. 1. “However, the coronavirus pandemic, the geopolitical situation and prevailing macroeconomic conditions all remain challenging,” he said. Cypress talent helps strengthen the Infineon team with a broader product portfolio for connectivity for IoT, which “enables us to address an even greater number of markets,” he said. “We are in an excellent position to master future challenges.”
Infineon expects to generate revenue of about 10.5 billion Euro ($12.5 billion) in the 2021 fiscal year, including Cypress for the first time for a full fiscal year.
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