Apple’s Reduced iPhone Production Hurts Infineon

Buried in the long, confessional press release from Infineon (IFX) about its woeful outlook is a tidbit that appears to confirm recent reports that Apple (AAPL) has slowed production of the iPhone. In the release, Infineon reports that “revenues in the Wireless Solutions segment” in the December quarter “are anticipated to be strongly negatively impacted by the weakening of global demand and, in addition, by a reduction in demand at one specific customer .” (emphasis added.) Infineon provides Apple with the HSDPA wireless data chip used in the iPhone. Analysts note that in the September quarter, Infineon actually outperformed expectations due in part to strong sales to Apple, as it ramped up iPhone production. But Apple built up considerable channel inventory in the September quarter - about 2 million of the 6.9 million iPhones sold - as it spread distribution into more countries. A month ago, chip analyst Craig Berger, of Friedman Billings Ramsey , forecast ... (link)