Infineon hikes 2023 sales, margin outlook, shares rise

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Shares in Infineon rose on Wednesday after the German chipmaker raised its outlook for both its financial second quarter and the whole of 2023, citing resilience in its automotive and industrials divisions.

Infineon, whose chips are used in cars and data centres, last month lifted its full-year profit margin forecast on strong demand from carmakers, which are restocking inventories following a global chip glut, leading to higher prices.

The group now expects 2023 sales significantly above the 15.5 billion euros ($16.8 billion) forecast previously, up from 14.2 billion last year.

It said there would be a corresponding positive impact on margins, without specifying.

Shares in the group were up 6.4% at 0806 GMT. They have gained around a quarter year-to-date.

Second-quarter sales, which will be officially released on May 4, are now forecast above 4 billion euros, the group said, compared with around 3.9 billion euros previously.

Higher prices and lower-than-expected energy costs will also lead to a second-quarter segment results margin in the high twenties percentage range, above the 25% it had expected.

Shares in Infineon's U.S. peer Micron meanwhile rose slightly despite forecasting a nearly 60% drop in third quarter revenue on Tuesday, as a glut in the chip industry is expected to push it to its steepest revenue drop since 2001.

($1 = 0.9228 euros)

(Reporting by Christoph Steitz and Rachel More; Editing by Mark Potter, Elaine Hardcastle)