Infineon Reports First Quarter Results for Fiscal Year 2004

Jan 19, 2004 | Quarterly Report

  • EBIT amounted to Euro 70 million, up slightly from Euro 67 million sequentially, significantly improved from negative Euro 29 million year-on-year
  • First quarter net income was Euro 34 million, down from Euro 49 million in the previous quarter, and significantly up from a net loss of Euro 40 million year-on-year
  • First quarter revenues were Euro 1.62 billion, down 8 percent sequentially, and up 13 percent year-on-year
  • Despite continuing pricing pressure, all business groups except Wireline Communications showed positive EBIT

Munich, Germany – January 19, 2004 – Infineon Technologies AG (FSE/NYSE: IFX), the world's sixth largest semiconductor manufacturer, today announced results for its first quarter in fiscal year 2004, ended December 31, 2003. Revenues of Euro 1.62 billion reflected a decrease of 8 percent sequentially, but an improvement of 13 percent on a year-on-year basis. The sequential revenue decrease was due mostly to continued price decline throughout all business segments, as well as the negative impact of the weakening US-dollar exchange rate.

Dr. Ulrich Schumacher, President and CEO of Infineon Technologies AG, commented: “Today, we announce profitability for the first quarter of this fiscal year. This good development is in line with our expectations and consistent with our business roadmap. We had positive results in three of our four business groups. Despite continued price decline and the weakening US-dollar, we made full use of productivity and cost advantages, and were thus still able to improve our EBIT.“

Net income amounted to Euro 34 million, compared to net income of Euro 49 million in the previous quarter and a net loss of Euro 40 million year-on-year. Quarterly EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) was Euro 70 million versus Euro 67 million in the previous quarter and significantly improved from an EBIT loss of Euro 29 million in the first quarter of the last fiscal year. The sequential earnings performance reflected among other improved earnings in the Secure Mobile Solutions business group, as well as lower earnings from the Memory Products business group.

Basic and diluted earnings per share for the first quarter of fiscal year 2004 were Euro 0.05, declining from Euro 0.07 per share in the previous quarter but improving from a loss per share of Euro 0.06 year-on-year.

Expenditures for Research and Development in the first quarter totaled Euro 276 million, or 17 percent of sales, down from Euro 297 million, or 17 percent of sales, sequentially. The decrease was due mainly to lower R&D expenditures in the Memory Products business group, as well as the non-recurrence of in-process R&D charges in the Automotive & Industrial business group in the previous quarter.

SG&A expenses totaled Euro 174 million, or 11 percent of total revenues, compared to Euro 185 million, or 11 percent of total revenues, in the previous quarter. The decrease in absolute terms was due mainly to lower professional fees as well as cost control efforts.

Infineon’s gross cash position, representing cash and cash equivalents, marketable securities and restricted cash, remained at Euro 2.8 billion. The net cash position, representing the gross cash position less debt, increased to Euro 355 million from Euro 328 million at the end of the previous quarter.

Revenues outside Europe constituted 57 percent of total revenues, decreasing from 59 percent in the previous quarter. Sales in North America were 20 percent of total revenues in the first quarter, down sequentially from 24 percent, whereas sales in the Asian market represented 36 percent of total revenues, increasing from 34 percent in the previous quarter.

As of December 31, 2003, Infineon had approximately 32,900 employees worldwide, including about 6,100 engaged in research and development.

Business Group Performance

Automotive & Industrial’s first quarter revenues amounted to Euro 356 million, down 1 percent sequentially and up 4 percent year-on-year. The sequential revenue performance mainly reflected continued pricing pressure, as well as the impact of the weakening US-dollar. EBIT improved to Euro 48 million, compared to Euro 44 million in both the previous quarter and in the first quarter of the last fiscal year. The sequential EBIT improvement mainly reflects the non-recurrence of costs related to the acquisition and first time consolidation of SensoNor in the previous quarter. Furthermore, the business group continued to increase productivity.

In line with the business group’s long-term regional strategy, the Automotive business achieved significant design wins with application-specific chipsets for safety and power train applications, especially in the NAFTA region. In its Industrial business, the group successfully launched the new LightMOS IGBT family to complete the portfolio for the electronic lamp ballast application.

Wireline Communications’ revenues were Euro 107 million in the first quarter, down 12 percent from the previous quarter, and up 1 percent year-on-year. The sequential revenue decrease was due mainly to lower revenues in the fiber optics market, partially offset by growth in Access revenues. Revenues were also negatively impacted by the weakening US-dollar, and ongoing price decline. EBIT showed a loss of Euro 15 million versus a loss of Euro 8 million in the previous quarter, but improved significantly compared to a loss of Euro 42 million year-on-year.

Within the Access business, revenues in the ADSL and SHDSL business enjoyed significant growth. Further important design wins were made at leading customers such as Siemens ICN.

Secure Mobile Solutions’ first quarter revenues were Euro 465 million, almost consistent with the previous quarter, and up 15 percent compared to the first quarter of last year. The significantly better than expected revenue performance was generated by robust seasonal sales of mobile communications devices which was offset by a weaker security project business, as well as the phasing out of some cordless and GalliumArsenide activities. Despite only slightly higher revenues, EBIT increased significantly to Euro 14 million, compared to Euro 4 million in the previous quarter, and a loss of Euro 28 million year-on-year. The quarterly EBIT improvement reflected both an improved product mix and higher productivity despite continuing pricing pressure. Cost reductions were achieved from the restructuring of the microelectronics business previously acquired from Ericsson.

There was continued strong demand for the company’s cellular components, such as baseband and RF-products, as well as for products of the platform solution business. In addition, new order intake for silicon discretes achieved the highest level of the past five quarters. The Security business unit successfully began new projects for electronic passports and driver’s licenses. To accelerate its development from a semiconductor manufacturer to a system partner for complete mobile platform solutions, Infineon entered into an agreement in the first quarter of fiscal year 2004 to take on approximately 145 Siemens ICM software developers. By this move, Infineon extended its know-how in the industry-leading protocol stack for Siemens mobile phones.

The Memory Products group’s first quarter revenues were Euro 643 million, down 16 percent sequentially, but up 19 percent compared to the first quarter of the last fiscal year. The sequential revenue decline is mainly attributable to lower sales volumes and lower prices, as well as the negative impact of the weakening US-dollar exchange rate. The volume decline was a consequence of the focus on price quality in the sales strategy, and the flexible use of silicon foundry capacities. EBIT decreased sequentially to Euro 57 million, down from Euro 134 million in the previous quarter, and up from Euro 31 million on a year-on-year basis. The sequential EBIT decline was mainly caused by the non-recurrence of a gain on the sale of ProMOS shares in the previous quarter, the impact of the exchange rate, and, to a lesser extent, by falling prices and reduced bit shipments.

Infineon successfully launched its first NAND-compatible flash chip and entered the world’s flash memory market with a 512-Megabit memory chip based on TwinFlash technology. Production of these chips has begun at the company’s 200-mm DRAM facility in Dresden. Furthermore, the business group started sampling of its Mobile-RAM with densities of 128-Megabit and 256-Megabit, and its 500-MegaHertz DDR-3 Graphics-RAM, all based on the company’s 110-nanometer technology. Inotera Memories, the company’s joint venture with the Taiwanese company Nanya, began to move in 300mm production equipment in December 2003.

In the company’s Other operating segment, first quarter revenues increased to Euro 47 million, up 18 percent compared to the previous quarter, and up 27 percent on a year-on-year basis. EBIT showed a loss of Euro 5 million compared to a loss of Euro 26 million in the previous quarter, and a positive EBIT of Euro 6 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2003. The sequential earnings increase reflected an improved performance of the ASIC & Design Solutions (ADS) business and lower impairment charges compared to the previous quarter.

In Corporate and Reconciliation, EBIT loss was reduced to Euro 29 million compared to a loss of Euro 81 million in the prior quarter and a loss of Euro 40 million a year ago, principally reflecting reduced idle capacity costs and lower restructuring charges.

Outlook for fiscal year 2004

“All business indicators show that the semiconductor industry is finally in an upswing phase. The worst crisis ever experienced in the semiconductor market seems to be over,” commented Dr. Schumacher. “With the market back on track, we also see positive business development for the current fiscal year. All segments are expected to show stable growth in 2004.”

Infineon expects good growth in the automotive segment despite strong continuing pricing pressure, reflecting the introduction of new car models with higher semiconductor content but only limited overall growth in worldwide automotive production. Even though the weakening US-dollar exchange rate will impact the business, Infineon anticipates a growth of its automotive and industrial business in fiscal year 2004 in line with the market.

For the second quarter of fiscal year 2004, Infineon expects a return to growth in revenues in the wireline communications segment. Revenue growth could, however, be hampered by a further weakening US-dollar. For fiscal year 2004, the company sees solid growth for its Wireline Communications business group. In addition, Infineon is preparing strategic options for Fiber Optics by carving out the business into a separate legal entity. The company is in the process of evaluating potential strategic partners to maximize the value of the business.

For the second quarter, Infineon expects a slight sequential decrease in revenues in the secure mobile solutions segment due to seasonally-reduced demand after Christmas, and continued phasing out of some cordless business. The company expects stable development of the wireless infrastructure and silicon discretes businesses. Infineon is confident that demand for security controllers will grow steadily until the end of fiscal year 2004, mainly as a result of major design wins at identification projects. The ongoing convergence of multimedia applications should also reinforce growth in the wireless business in the second half of fiscal year 2004.

Historically, the beginning of the calendar year shows declining prices for memory products based on a reduced demand for PC units after the Christmas season. Infineon expects its bit shipment to increase in the second quarter of fiscal year 2004. Main production growth for the rest of the fiscal year will be driven by the conversion of the company’s production process to 110-nanometer technology and the ramp-up of capacities at its foundry partners. The company expects demand to grow in 2004 as a result of corporate replacement of older equipment and the ramp-up of DDR II-based desktop PCs and servers.

“While pricing pressure persists in most of our business segments, we see more tangible signs of a recovery in the semiconductor industry, particularly strongly increasing utilization rates in our own fabs and foundries and more aggressive booking behavior from our customers. Despite our cautious optimism, we will relentlessly continue to reduce costs, focus our product portfolio and become more flexible and faster than our competitors. Based on this effort, we are confident to again outgrow the market and improve our profitability relative to industry benchmarks,” commented Dr. Schumacher.

Telephone Conference Information


Infineon Technologies will host a telephone conference with the media on January 19, 2004, 12:00 pm Central European Time (CET), 6:00 am Eastern Standard Time (U.S. EST). The call can be followed in German and English over the Internet. The telephone conference for analysts and investors (English only) will take place at 2:00 pm Central European Time (CET), 8:00 am Eastern Standard Time (U.S. EST), to discuss operating performance of the first quarter of fiscal year 2004. A broadcast of the conference will be available live and for download on Infineon‘s web site at: http://www.infineon.com

D I S C L A I M E R

This discussion includes forward-looking statements about our future business. These forward-looking statements include statements relating to future developments of the world semiconductor market, especially the market for memory products, Infineon’s future growth, the benefits of research and development alliances and activities, our planned levels of future investment in the expansion and modernization of our production capacity, the introduction of new technology at our facilities, the transitioning of our production processes to smaller structures, cost savings related to such transitioning and other initiatives, our successful development of technology based on industry standards, our ability to offer commercially viable products based on our technology, our ability to achieve our cost savings and growth targets. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of uncertainties, including trends in demand and prices for semiconductors generally and for our products in particular, the success of our development efforts, both alone and with our partners, the success of our efforts to introduce new production processes at our facilities and the actions of our competitors, the availability of funds for planned expansion efforts, as well as the other factors mentioned herein. As a result, our actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements.

Infineon, the stylized Infineon Technologies design are trademarks and servicemarks of Infineon Technologies AG. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Information Number

INFXX200401.025

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