FRANKFURT, May 7 (Reuters) - German chipmaker Dialog Semiconductor on Thursday raised its profitability outlook for the full year after publishing a better-than-expected first quarter operating profit on strong demand for its products from smartphone makers.
Dialog said it expected gross margin for the full year 2015 to be slightly above last year's 45.3 percent. Earlier, it had guided for a stable gross margin.
Quarterly earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), excluding special items, rose to $71 million, Dialog said on Thursday, beating the average estimate of $53.7 million in a Reuters poll.
Dialog makes chips that manage power consumption of consumer electronic devices such as smartphones and tablet computers. Apple and Samsung Electronics are among its main customers.
Apple last week reported better-than-expected revenues and profits as it sold more iPhones in China than in the United States for the first time, while Samsung said demand for its new flagship smartphones the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge was strong. ] (Reporting by Harro ten Wolde; Editing by Arno Schuetze)