Infineon Forecasts Fiscal 2002 Loss

Infineon Technologies reported its third straight quarterly loss and said it will be unprofitable this fiscal year, dousing investor optimism for a rebound in the semiconductor industry and sending shares lower.

Computer-memory chip prices on the spot market have tripled since early November, and Infineon said this month that it was in the process of raising prices for contract customers. Still, prices have not exceeded Infineon’s full cost of production and the company said it sees no signs of an “overall market recovery.”

Munich-based Infineon, which announced 5,000 job cuts in 2001, makes chips for mobile phones and computers. Sales dropped as economies slowed and customers including Dell Computer Corp. and Nokia saw demand for their products cool.