DORTMUND (dpa-AFX) - Semiconductor manufacturer Elmos performed better than expected in the third quarter thanks to sustained high demand. However, the hopes of some investors for an increased forecast were disappointed. The SDax-listed share turned negative after a plus of up to four percent in the first hour of trading.

Turnover rose by 27 percent to just under 152 million euros, the company announced in Dortmund on Wednesday. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) increased by 40 percent to around 42 million euros. Sales and earnings thus exceeded the average forecast of experts surveyed by the Bloomberg news agency.

Elmos CEO Arne Schneider also confirmed the forecast for the current year. According to this, sales should increase by at least a quarter to more than 560 million euros in the current year. The margin based on earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) is expected to be 25 percent plus or minus two percentage points. In 2022, the figure was 24.6 percent.

In the nine months to the end of September, the margin was 25.7%. Turnover increased by 30 percent to 418 million euros during this period. Some traders had therefore hoped that Elmos would at least raise its sales forecast.

After the share had also recovered significantly in the last few trading days from the losses from July to the end of October, some investors got out. After a significant gain at the start of trading, the share price fell by up to four percent. Most recently, the share price fell by just over one percent to 70.60 euros.

At the current level, the share is around a quarter below its record high of almost 94 euros in April. Despite the setback since then, the share is one of the biggest winners among German blue chips, having gained just over 30 percent in the year to date.

The company, which was founded in 1984 and has been listed on the stock exchange since 1999, is currently valued at around 1.2 billion euros on the financial market. With a stake of just over 20 percent, company co-founder and Supervisory Board Chairman Klaus Weyer is the largest shareholder./zb/ngu/jha/