Austrian sensor maker ams OSRAM on Tuesday forecast first quarter revenue below or in line with last year's number due to muted demand for automotive semiconductors, but said it saw recovery in the second half of 2025.

Its Switzerland-listed shares soared 15.3% by 0813 GMT, leading gains on the Swiss mid-cap index, with analysts at Jefferies and Vontobel saying the quarterly forecast was better than the market had feared.

Uncertainties and inventory corrections over the automotive supply chain have persisted into the first quarter, while industrial and medical markets show signals that might indicate a bottom to the cycle, ams OSRAM said in an earnings statement.

"The company expects a meaningfully stronger second half mainly due to product ramps and to some extent, market normalization," it added, foreseeing improved profitability at moderate revenue development.

It sees revenue of 750 million to 850 million euros (USD 773 million to USD 876 million) in the first three months of 2025, compared with 847 million euros in the same period last year.

Based on a Vara Research poll, analysts were expecting sales of 782.5 million euros on average for the first quarter.

The company refrained from giving specific sales or earnings forecasts for the rest of the year, the latest semiconductor firm exposed to the automotive sector to do so. STMicroelectronics, one of Europe's biggest chipmakers, last month said it was too early guide for 2025 as customers deal with inventory corrections and place orders later than usual.