However, there is some hope for the Swiss chipmaker, in that the book-to-bill ratio rose to 1.25 amid signs of recovery in automotive markets.

Micronas AG suffered losses, again, in the third quarter, with the company’s financial situation getting worse further.

The company has closed down its chip-making business. Besides, it has, in part, sold its consumer business that had accounted for a larger portion of its revenues.

Micronas AG has said that it now intends to focus on automotive customers. The company has reported losses in almost all areas. The losses for the reporting period jumped to CHF 15 million (around $14.8 million), compared to the second-quarter losses of only CHF 1.3 million. One of the main factors responsible for the huge losses, Micronas explained, was the low utilization of its semiconductor production facility in Freiburg, Germany.

In the 9-month period of 2009, Micronas AG lost business severely – with sales in the first 9 months of 2009 plummeting to CHF 192 million, which is down by nearly 60 per cent from the same period in 2008.

The good news for Micronas is that the firm’s automotive business went up by 13.4 per cent to CHF 28.7 million in the third quarter. The fab utilization still stays very low, a little above 50 percent, but there are signs of improvement.

Another cheering news is that the order entry is rising at a fast pace, resulting in the book-to-bill ratio increasing to 1.25. The encouraging order entry is also a reflection of the market situation getting better for automotive semiconductors.