Sensor maker AMS expects limited second-quarter impact from coronavirus

VIENNA (Reuters) - Sensor specialist AMS expects the impact from the new coronavirus in the second quarter to be limited, it said on Wednesday after reporting first-quarter revenues within the upper half of its forecast.

AMS, which is in the process of taking over German lighting group Osram, said consumer solutions and programs for smartphone makers remained drivers of ongoing high demand despite the global spread of the novel virus.

The upbeat outlook echoed comments from Asian tech firms including Huawei [HWT.UL] and Foxconn.

However, Samsung Electronics said on Wednesday it expected profit to decline in the current quarter due to a coronavirus-related slump in sales of smartphones and TVs, although the chip business would remain solid.

AMS’s revenue came in at $501.2 million and adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) reached $101 million in the three months through March, the Austrian group said.

The Swiss-listed company, which generates a large chunk of its revenue with sensors for Apple’s iPhones, had guided for $480-520 million in revenues in the first quarter and an EBIT margin of 19-21%.

For the second quarter, AMS forecast revenues of $440-480 million and an adjusted operating (EBIT) margin of 17-20%.

As a result of the COVID-19 crisis, AMS saw additional demand for sensors that support computed tomography (CT) scanners, which play a key role in clinical diagnostics for the disease, it said.

The Osram acquisition was fully on track, AMS said.

Reporting by Kirsti Knolle, editing by John Miller and Michael Shields

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