Infineon shares dive on sales guidance reduction

In a press release, Infineon predicted its communications revenue for its fiscal third quarter would remain flat from the previous quarter. Infineon makes chips for cell phones and other communications devices.

American Depositary Shares of Infineon fell $1.19, or 12 percent, to $8.77. They have ranged from $6.26 to $18.74 over the past year.

"Though details in the release were scant and there is no conference call, press reports citing an Infineon spokesman pointed to delays in shipping the single chip (baseband plus radio frequency) device for Nokia's GSM program," Oppenheimer analyst Allan Mishan wrote in a note to investors.

"At the same time, the press is also reporting that Nokia insists that there are no delays to its single-chip program due to an Infineon delay (which corroborates the Infineon delay), owing to the company's multiple sources," he added.

Mishan said Infineon's weak guidance could bode well for competitor Texas Instruments Inc., a major supplier of chips for Finnish cell phone maker Nokia Corp.

Shares of Texas Instruments added 21 cents to $32.70, while U.S.-traded shares of Nokia slipped 35 cents to $28.02.

Infineon's guidance revision follows the company's announcement Monday that Wolfgang Ziebart will resign as chief executive at the end of the month. The company attributed the move to a difference in strategy.

Ziebart will be replaced by Peter Bauer, who has been running Infineon's automotive chip business, the company said.

Shares of money-losing memory chip maker Qimonda AG, in which Infineon holds a major stake, fell 19 cents, or 4.7 percent, to $3.88. They have traded in a 52-week range of $3.04 to $17.29.