On sales of €855 million (about $1.282 billion) the company achieved an income from continuing operations of €24 million, a significant improvement over the €26 million loss in the preceding quarter. The sales figure illustrates the situation of the company and in a certain way of the entire semiconductor industry: With an increase of 12 percent it improved significantly over the preceding quarter, but the comparison with the same quarter a year earlier still shows a hefty 18 percent decline. However, the sale of its wireline business has reduced the revenue basis for the company.

Infineon CEO Peter Bauer attributes the improvement to two factors: The cost-cutting program the company has implemented over the past 12 months and an increased demand in all segments.

For the first quarter of its FY 2010 (Q4 of calendar year 2009) the company expects sales and results to remain stable. For the entire year 2010, the company predicts an increase in sales of about 10 percent, driven in the first place by a recovery in its automotive segment. The Wireless Solutions and Industrial & Multimarket segments are expected to grow somewhat slower while the Chip Card & Security segment will contribute the smallest growth rates, despite a recently announced large contract with China on passport chips.