Apple Supplier AMS Upbeat as Android Camp Grows

Chipmaker AMS on Tuesday gave an upbeat outlook for the second quarter as it benefited from a rising number of Android smartphones using its 3D optical sensors, lifting its shares 8 percent in premarket trading.

The Austrian group has been working on diversifying from Apple, which it has supplied with face recognition technology, as slow demand for the latest iPhones weighs.

Its Apple dependency led the group to drop its long-term guidance and suspend dividend payments in February.

AMS said it saw the hoped-for start of Android smartphone launches that include its 3D technology in the first quarter and expects more Android devices with its 3D illumination solutions to be launched over the course of the year.

The Swiss-listed group expects revenues of $390-430 million (roughly Rs. 2,700 crores to Rs. 3,000 crores) in the second quarter and its operating margin to reach around 10 percent in the period.

Revenue in the three months through March fell 20 percent from the fourth quarter of 2018 to $390.2 million, at the upper end of its guidance. The operating margin came in at 6 percent, with adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) at $23.5 million.

"AMS recorded this positive development despite generally more subdued end-market environments in addition to typical strong seasonality in the consumer market," it said.

© Thomson Reuters 2019