*Says Q4 EBIT loss 220 mln eur

*Says net loss 763 mln eur

*Expects Q1 sales to drop 30 pct compared with Q4

*Expects 2009 fiscal year sales to decrease 15 pct

Chipmaker Infineon  reported an operating loss of 220 million euros ($279.9 million) in its fourth quarter, missing expectations as it grapples with falling chip prices and declining demand from automakers, a key customer group.

The German company reported a loss before interest and tax (EBIT loss) excluding its Qimonda unit  of 244 million euros on group sales of 1.153 billion euros in the period July-September.

Analysts had on average expected an operating loss of 53 million and a net loss of 407 million euros, according to a Reuters poll.

For the first quarter of the 2009 fiscal year it expects revenue to decrease by around 30 percent compared with the fourth quarter and forecast a drop of at least 15 percent for the entire 2009 fiscal year, it said on Wednesday.

Infineon stock has lost almost 80 percent in value since the beginning of the year and underperformed the German blue chip index DAX .GDAXI by 61.7 percent.

Source:Reuters