German semiconductors giant Infineon said Thursday it will pay an increased dividend for the year to September and forecasts further sales growth after a solid fourth quarter.

Infineon, which runs its business year from October to September, said in a statement that its net profit rose by 27 percent to 181 million euros ($226 million) in the fourth quarter.

Fourth-quarter sales were up 12 percent at 1.175 billion euros.

Chief executive Reinhard Ploss said the group had been "well prepared to handle steeply rising demand from our customers and therefore always able to deliver reliably. Revenue, earnings and margin all saw solid increases, in line with our expectations."

As a result, shareholders would "participate in this success and we are therefore proposing a dividend of 0.18 euros per share," Ploss said.

"Despite a challenging market environment, we plan to continue growing in the current 2015 fiscal year," he continued.

"For the 2015 fiscal year, based on an assumed exchange rate of $1.30 to the euro, Infineon forecasts a year-on-year growth in revenue of 8 percent, plus or minus 2 percentage points," Ploss said.

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INFINEON TECHNOLOGIES AG