Good morning and welcome to the conference call on the results of the third quarter of fiscal 2025 of Infineon Technologies . I'm [Boris Kolu] and I'm your operator. I would like to let you know that all participants are going to be in listener status and that the conference call will be recorded. After the presentation, you'll have the opportunity to ask questions by pressing star one on your keypad. Should you need the assistance of an operator, please press star zero on your keypad. The conference may not be recorded for publication purposes. I'd like now to hand the floor to Florian Martens. Please go ahead, sir.
Thank you very much. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Dear colleagues and co-workers, I would also like to welcome you to our conference call on the results of the third quarter of fiscal 2025.
Participating at this conference as usual, representing the Management Board of Infineon is Jochen Hanebeck, CEO, and Dr. Sven Schneider, CFO. Dear listeners, as usual, Mr. Hanebeck will start by giving you an overview of the business performance of Infineon. After that, both members of the Management Board will be available to answer any questions you may have. Our conference call will end punctually at 8:45 A.M. Of course, our press team, headed up by Andre Tauber and myself, will be available to you after the press conference. Now I'd like to hand over to Jochen Hanebeck.
Thank you, Florian. Hello and welcome listeners. In the third quarter, in a very volatile environment, Infineon has again produced sound results. The semiconductor markets are recovering slowly from the long downturn of the signal correction which affected the different end markets at different times. There are signs of an upward trend at last. This is reflected in our figures. The past quarter was the second in six and we recorded sequential growth. Adjusted for currency effects, it was more than 9% in fact. In the current fourth quarter we expect a further increase in revenue. It's likely to be the first quarter for two years in which, compared to the previous year's quarter, Infineon has grown even when adjusted for currency effects, the dynamics affected by the geopolitical macroeconomic turbulences. Because of U.S. tariffs, customers are ordering at short notice.
So far we are seeing that the inventories are being built up on a broad basis, which means that we are also encountering headwind for our business development. We are countering that with our cycle management. What's of decided importance is that we are different from our competitors and create nodes of added value for our customers. There are matching competitors in different complementary product groups forming the basis measured by fiscal 2024. About 40% of our total revenue is due to power semiconductors and here our unbeatably broad offering of all three relevant technologies, silicon, silicon carbide and gallium nitride. We are in an excellent position. Another 30% of revenue is accountable by analog semiconductors and sensors. These include drivers, DC converters and smart power switches and a broad range of sensors and special memories.
The remaining 30% of our products come in the product category of Control & Connectivity. This includes our microcontrollers for the fields of application in automotive security and industry and a broad range of wireless and wired products. The latter is being strengthened by our purchase of the Automotive Ethernet business of Marvell. I'll say more about the status of takeover later on. Thanks to our comprehensive product portfolio and system competence with the newly appearing semiconductor application, we are creating considerable added value for our customers and for Infineon. We are seizing opportunities in strategically important growth fields, for example in software-defined vehicles, power supply solutions for AI data centers, and power infrastructures. I'll give you some examples later on. First of all, as usual, look back at the development business in the third quarter.
There, Infineon achieved revenue of EUR 3,074 million, which is about 3% more than in the previous quarter, and that is despite a considerably negative currency effect. The average exchange rate of the U.S. dollar to the Euro in the past quarter was 1.14. In the previous quarter, it had been 1.05. To put this in perspective, with a constant exchange rate, the increase in revenue would have been more than 9%. The strong increase in sales, especially in the field of Green Energy Power and Power & Sensor Systems business, reflects the fact that the customers have digested their excessive inventories. The segment result was EUR 668 million, and the segment result margin increased to 18% following 16.7% in the previous quarter. The improvements are due in particular to the growth in quantities and declining costs from capacity underutilization in production. These effects have more than compensated the unfavorable currency development.
Free cash flow in the third quarter rose to EUR 208 million, following EUR 174 million in the previous quarter. The dividend is due to increased revenue with stronger margins, also income from the sale of a factory in Austin, and low investment. The result in the fourth quarter: Automotive achieved revenue of EUR 1,870 million, which is a slight increase of 1% compared to the previous quarter. The segment result margin of ATV was EUR 371 million, and the segment result margin was 19.8% after 20.7% in the previous quarter. The slight decline is due to currency and product mix effects, and they overcompensated the positive effect from the lower costs of capacity underutilization. The global car sales in the June quarter showed healthy growth due mainly to the strong markets in the U.S. and China. There were problems of the possible tariff weakness in the U.S.A. and the negative news about the dropping of the scrappage incentives in China.
That means that the further development of the automotive to the end of the calendar year must be viewed cautiously. Another point is that we can see the risk that some manufacturers are continuing to reduce their target inventories in semiconductors because there are considerable financial restrictions. That means that there is risk that their inventories will drop to a subcritical level. In this environment, we are expanding. We are relying on our unique strengths in the semiconductor portfolio for automotive markets, and the takeover of the Ethernet business of Marvell means that we can offer our customers even more comprehensive system solutions for software-defined vehicles. We've already received the necessary authorities' approvals for the transaction in a very short time.
We expect closure of the transaction in the near future and look forward to welcoming a few hundred Ethernet experts from Marvell i nto the Infineon team. Together with them, we shall continue to develop further growth-oriented fields of application in physicals, AI, for example, humanoid robots. Some of the automotive design wins: now we're glad to inform you that the most advanced active suspension system has been achieved from the U.S. company ClearMotion. It's a 48-volt high-end application using AURIX microgrid combined with the OPTIREG switches. It's a mix which is used in a premium sports car manufacturer, including an innovative vehicle in China such as the NIO ET9. In addition, we are using this active product in a new series of vehicles from a European premium auto manufacturer.
The innovative vehicles will use a wide range of smart power supply components, including our PROFET power switches, which means that we'll have total volume of the mid 3-digit millions. Now, in Green Industrial Power, the division achieved revenue of EUR 431 million, which is 9% more than the previous quarter. The segment result was EUR 61 million, and the segment result margin was 14.2%, falling from 19.6% the previous quarter. Structural growth drivers are strengthening demand and opening additional business opportunities for us, especially in the field of the power infrastructure. In these final markets, inventories at our customers have continued to reach normal levels. Now, one highlight of the past: we are delighted to announce that our power semiconductor modules, together with a major power storage system in the biggest grid-forming project, are being used in China.
The project combines a photovoltaic system with a storage capacity of about 400 MWh and can supply about 270,000 homes with electricity. With its unique expertise and highly reliable power semiconductor modules, Infineon is different from the competitors and this is a prime example of how we've done it. Power & Sensor Systems revenue in the third quarter rose to EUR 1.053 billion which has increased by 8% over the previous quarter. The dynamic demand in power supply solutions for data centers were the main reasons for this growth. Segment result was EUR 198 million and segment result margin was 18.8%, falling from 14.1% previous quarter. The increase is due to the larger amounts sold and the lower costs of capacity and reutilization, which more than compensated the negative currency effect. Artificial intelligence remains a strong growth factor of Infineon.
Expanding AI infrastructure and setting up AI data centers is proceeding with great momentum. We expect that revenue from power supply solutions for AI data centers in this fiscal world will be EUR 600 million, which is more than twice as much as last year. In the next year we are likely to reach EUR 1 billion. The range of products is the broadest in the whole semiconductor industry. We introduce and offer not just solutions for voltage transformation, but work together with our customers to optimize the flow and current from the grid to the AI processor. In May, we announced cooperation with NVIDIA and together we're developing the first 800-volt DC high voltage supply structure for AI data centers.
The new system architecture improves the power efficiency of power distribution in data centers and it makes it possible to convert the electricity direct on the AI chip, which means that we are taking account of the growing demands for AI data centers. Now AI data centers have more than 100,000 individual AI chips, which means the need for efficient power supply is growing. In 2030, we expect that the AI centers will need more than 1 MW per IT rack. Another highlight is in our sensor portfolio. In the automotive applications, our radar chips are being used increasingly in modern driver assistance systems, especially new central radar architecture in the car. This means that the radar data is evaluated solely in the central unit and the high frequency radar chip is linked via Ethernet to the central computing unit.
You can see that new architecture has been introduced very successfully in China with our radar solutions. We're in a very good position to benefit from this development now. Connected Secure Systems in the third quarter, the division achieved revenue of EUR 349 million, which is almost the same as the previous quarter. The segment result was EUR 39 million and the segment result margin was 11.2%, which was stably on the level of the previous quarter. Macroeconomic uncertainty is still depressing the mood in consumers and investors, and the demand for IoT and security solutions is moving sideways. Innovation in this environment remains the key to success, either by continuous improvements to our products or with completely new solutions. One example for continuously further developed products are security controllers based on Integrity Guard security architecture used in electronic passports, payment cards, and smartphones.
Since the product was launched, we have supplied more than 10 billion of these security controllers. In view of the rapid increase in the number of cyber attacks, the importance for security is growing constantly and we are providing the answer. For example, the innovativeness in future-oriented technologies are the security chips which cannot be hacked even by quantum computers. Six months ago, I reported on that at this point and now we've achieved the first major design win with OPTIGA security chips with post-quantum cryptography to protect firmware and it will be integrated in the next version of gaming consoles. Now listeners, I come to the outlook. We see an increase in the demand for semiconductors due to the signal development. Inventories are being reduced to a healthy level and the indications of demand suggest a slight recovery, especially with industrial application.
Those close to consumers setting up the AI infrastructure will increase the demand for our power supply solutions for data centers. In the automotive sector, security or the visibility is not so clear and we also see that macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties are being more important than the recovery. We've not seen the worst-case scenario regarding tariffs, but the latest rumors from the U.S., Japan, and the EU suggest that the tariffs will be higher compared to the existing ones. Negative consequences remain probable. That is a brief summary of our forecast for the current fourth quarter of our fiscal year. In view of the weaker U.S. dollar, we are adjusting our assumptions regarding exchange rates from 1.125 - 1.15, tinged around the adjusted exchange rate.
We expect revenue in the fourth quarter of about EUR 3.9 billion, which corresponds to growth of about 5% compared to the previous quarter. This means the fourth quarter, as usual, will be the strongest quarter in the fiscal year. As I mentioned in our last quarterly talk, the indirect effects of tariffs and trade conflicts are difficult to assess to take them into account. Even so, in our last forecast and revenue for the fourth quarter in May, we applied a general reduction of 10%, and we expect that the consequences of tariffs in the fourth quarter will be less pronounced than expected at that time. At the same time, the development business will still suffer from the negative currency effects. Segment result margin is expected to be in the high teens.
In percentage terms, we assume that positive effect of the will be swallowed up by higher revenue, and the cost of capacity underutilization for fiscal 2025 is a revenue of EUR 14.6 billion, which is slightly lower than in the previous year. The percentage segment result margin ought to be in the high teens; previously, it's at the mid teens. The costs of capacity underutilization still place a burden on the margin to the tune of about EUR 1 billion. It is encouraging that our Step Up program for structural improvements is advancing more quickly than expected. Investments in fiscal 2025 have been reduced slightly to about EUR 2.2 billion. Previously, we'd spoken about EUR 2.3 billion. Expectations for free cash flow is being increased as follows. The reported free cash flow will probably be about EUR 100 million higher and is likely to reach EUR 1 billion.
This is like the better development of business, taking into account the expected closure of the acquisition of the Ethernet business of Marvell in the automotive sector and the payment of the purchase price of $2.5 billion. The free cash flow would then be about - EUR 1.2 billion. The adjusted free cash flow, adjusted investments in front end business, will be about EUR 1.7 billion compared to EUR 1.6 billion. Material effect that I come to the end of my remarks, and together with Sven Schneider, I'll be happy to answer your questions.
Ladies and gentlemen, we're now opening the Q & A session. If you'd like to ask a question, please press star one on your keypad. You will then hear a tone that indicates that you're going to be added to the queue. If you'd like to withdraw a question, please press star two on your keypad. Participants are asked to use their handset when asking a question. If you have a question now, please press star one. We're going to wait a little bit for the first question to come through. The first question comes from [Kristoff Wilmeyer] from DPR. Please go ahead, sir. Good morning and thank you for allowing me to ask a question. I have a question, or rather a series of questions.
I know this may be difficult to answer, but could you tell us how much the tariffs cost you in Q3 and perhaps also prospectively what that situation will be like now? The job cuts. It looks like you're making good progress here. 2,300 employees have been cut from last year. If I've understood your communication correctly, does that bring an end to the downsizing or not? Thank you very much.
Thank you very much, Mr. [Wilmeyer], for your questions. With respect to the tariffs, with respect to the direct effects on semiconductors, we can say that they're still minimal. Semiconductor tariffs are always calculated based on the front end site or the wafer site, which would be Dresden. In the context of Infineon today, we only have tariffs on products where wafer manufacturing is conducted in China, and this therefore affects us to a very minor degree.
As a result of that, these effects are negligible. The indirect impacts were set out in my presentation. I told you that it was very difficult to estimate them. We see that the market is very nervous. I believe that you receive reports about the automotive industry on a daily basis. With respect to our job cuts, we're right on schedule. In the past we said that we would reduce the workforce by 2,400 positions and we would also shift positions from high cost to low cost countries. We're making very good progress in this program. On top of that, our headcount is being reduced by the sale of factories, including the 1,000 employees at Austin, for example, that we sold to contract manufacturer SkyWater . In a nutshell, it's safe to say that in Europe we've basically done, we have reached agreements with all affected employees.
Of course, this has been done in a socially acceptable manner without laying people off. We also have termination agreements, which are by mutual consent, if that actually applies. That means we can actually then put the pedal to the metal to prepare ourselves for the future.
Thank you very much.
The next question is from Joachim Hofer from Handelsblatt. Please go ahead, sir.
Good morning. I also have two questions. I would like to know how you are progressing with Step Up. You said that you're progressing faster than anticipated. Could you express that in figures? Second, you said that you have idle costs, underutilization, that is, are there areas in which you have bottlenecks where you are doing really well? Oh, and I have a third question. You talked about the sale of a factory in the United States.
Do you also have plans to invest in sites and factory sites in the United States as well? Thank you very much.
Thank you, Mr. Hofer, for the first part of your set of questions. With respect to Step Up, I would like to hand over to my colleague Sven Schneider and then I will get back to you on the two other parts of your series of questions.
Good morning, Mr. Hofer, with the Step Up program, we have communicated that a high triple-digit million Euro amount in terms of saving effects are being targeted through to the first half of 2027. Your specific question was what happened in 2025 as opposed to the original plan? In summary, I can tell you that almost half of the savings potential has already been lifted in 2025 and this is slightly above the previous expectations.
We would have estimated that we would have been at about 1/3 , but we're now moving towards half. In 2026, we will reach 2/3 and then from the first half of 2027 will be at completion.
Yes, exactly. We're very happy about the success rate of Step Up. With respect to the idle costs, as we said before, it's about EUR 1 billion in the profit and loss account, which is quite a lot. We also have bottlenecks in the area of AI power supply solutions. Here, the customers are basically ripping the products out of our hands and we're developing the most modern products for solar inverters, which achieve very high levels of performance there. All our products are sold out. We do have some bottlenecks, but we would like to have even more because we would prefer to work on bottlenecks than under.
With respect to the United States, what I can tell you is that the semiconductor industry lives off of economies of scale. From a commercial point of view, it is not a lot of fun to build a series of small factories. That is why primarily we continue to channel our investments into the major sites that you're all familiar with. When it comes to local markets and meeting local demands, be this regulatory or in terms of tariffs, we will service these markets using contract manufacturers. In this vein, we are building out our network of contract manufacturers both in China and the United States of America, with resolve so that we can service these markets in an economically feasible manner.
May I ask a follow up question?
Yes, go ahead.
You don't really import a lot of your semiconductors into the United States, is that correct?
And if you do import into the United States, you import these products as part of finished products, is that correct?
Correct. The share of revenue accounted for by the United States is at around 11%. Yes, my colleagues are nodding off on this. That's correct. We also deliver assembled products to the United States. Once again, the decisive point is not whether we are a European company or a U.S. company in terms of tariffs, but rather where wafer manufacturing is located. If a company has a factory in Germany, then it will be affected by tariffs, just as we would be when delivering wafers from Dresden. This is what the semiconductor industry looks like in these terms. Second, it is quite important to see that we do deliver to the United States.
I'm talking here about volumes of fully assembled chips which in turn in Mexico continue to be used in the automotive industry. They're then integrated further so we can ship them in transit to Mexico without tariffs. Furthermore, it is our intention, should there be any tariff impacts or should there be direct tariffs on semiconductors, we intend to pass them through to the customers. This is a very complex equation and that's why it's so difficult. Difficult for us to give you more precise estimates, but we will do all we can to stave off any negative effects on the company and of course minimize them.
Okay, thank you very much.
As a reminder, if you like to ask a question, please press star one on your keypad. Now the next question comes from Hakan Ersen from Thomson Reuters. Please go ahead. Sir.
Good morning. I have two questions.
First of all, you said that based on constant exchange rates, the quarter on quarter growth would have been 9%. I would like to know what growth would have looked like compared to the previous year based on non constant currency exchange rates. Second, what is your forecast for revenue generated by products for AI data centers? You said EUR 600 million roughly in May. Is that figure still accurate or is there an update there?
Thank you very much for the questions. I'll field the second one and Mr. Schneider will then answer the first one. One, you're absolutely right. The figures that we published related to the last fiscal year, we're talking about EUR 500 million in revenue. This year we're at about EUR 600 million. Next year we'll be at about EUR 1 billion. This is a very, very dynamic business.
It is safe to expect that as long as AI infrastructure continues to be expanded at the planned rate, this business will continue to be very pleasing for us. In the interim, Mr. Schneider can perhaps answer the first question, the year over year issue.
Yes, thank you. We have the very same revenue in nominal terms, EUR 3,702 million compared to EUR 3,704 million adjusted for currency effects. A year ago we assumed an exchange rate of 1.08 and now we're at 1.14. We have a difference of $0.05 - $0.06. We're talking about EUR 115 million - EUR 150 million that we lost due to currency effects. Like for like, we're talking about growth quarter on quarter.
Thank you.
Ladies and gentlemen, there don't appear to be any further questions at present. Therefore, I would like to hand the floor back to Mr. Hanebeck for his concluding remarks.
Right, ladies and gentlemen, then I'll sum up. Infineon has completed the third quarter of fiscal 2025 right on plan in terms of revenue, probably at the upper end of the expected range. Despite the weaker dollar, the expansion of the reduction of the excessive inventories in countries and target markets advance. We've been seeing headwinds because of the effects of tariffs and the particular automotive industry. We are driving cautiously. The effects of these tariffs in the fourth quarter was less serious than expected, but it has been reduced by the unfortunate currency developments in this volatile environment. Cycle management is being continued and we expect in the current quarter a further sequential growth in revenue.
At the same time, we are seeing our strength in the highly attractive growth markets, artificial engines, power infrastructure, and software-defined vehicles, and Infineon with its product portfolio of power semiconductors, analog semiconductors and sensors, and Control & Connectivity, Infineon is in an excellent position to serve the markets and to advance innovation. Thank you for interest and see you next time.