Sensor maker ams OSRAM outperforms rivals, outlook boosts shares
Posts above estimate Q2 EBIT of 56 mln euros
Guides for higher Q3 revenue, margins
Shares jump 18%
Expects lower transformation cost of 680 mln euros on microLED
Updates shares in paragraph 2, adds CEO quotes paragraphs 4-5, 12
By Ozan Ergenay and Nathan Vifflin
July 26 (Reuters) -Austrian sensor maker ams OSRAM AMS.S forecast higher revenue and margins in the third quarter helped by a ramp-up of new products despite weakness in automotive chips and muted demand in industrial and medical businesses.
Shares in the company shot up 18% by 1036 GMT, topping the Swiss mid-cap index .SMIM, with analysts saying the outlook came as a relief after weaker peer results.
Semiconductor suppliers like ams OSRAM have been hit by weakening auto demand and low electric vehicle sales.
Chief executive Aldo Kamper said on a call with analysts that about half the improvement in the third quarter will be driven by consumer electronics, and the rest by agricultural lighting and the lamp assistance segment.
"September is the loading month for the lighting season," he said.
Jefferies analysts said in a note to clients the new ambient light sensor (ALS) ramp up for the iPhone 16 was helping.
Second-quarter adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of 56 million euros ($60.78 million) topped the 44.1 million seen in a poll by Vara Research.
The company reported revenue of 819 million euros and said it expected that to rise in the third quarter to between 830 million to 930 million euros, while margins would rise to 17%-20% from 16.5%.
Analysts polled by Vara Research are expecting revenue of 879.2 million euros in the third quarter.
"Given numerous profit warnings this reporting season due to weakening auto & industrial demand, we see the ams Q3 outlook today as a positive message, confirming the improvements the company is making post restructuring," Stifel analyst Juergen Wagner wrote in a note.
Ams slightly cut its microLED project restructuring cost to 680 million euros from 700 million euros. It had announced plans for exiting the project earlier this year after a cancellation by a major client.
Kamper said the company saw "good interest" in the factory.
($1 = 0.9212 euros)
Reporting by Ozan Ergenay and Nathan Vifflin; editing by Tom Hogue and Elaine Hardcastle
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