(Adds shares, WestLB upgrade)
FRANKFURT, July 21 (Reuters) - Shares in German chipmaker Dialog Semiconductor leapt as much as 16 percent on Wednesday after the firm said it had broken even in the second quarter and reiterated a 2004 sales growth target of 30 percent.
Dialog posted operating income of 33,000 euros ($40,870), compared with a loss of 4,200 euros a year ago, on sales up 44 percent to 30.4 million euros, saying growth had been driven by demand for mobile-phone and car-electronics chips.
The company said it made a net profit of 125,000 euros in the quarter, up from a net loss of 2,600 last year.
"At this mid-way stage in the year, we are confident of reaching our target revenue growth of 30 percent for the full year," Chief Executive Roland Pudelko said in a statement.
WestLB raised its investment recommendation on the firm to "buy" from "outperform". Analyst Karsten Iltgen said Dialog had reached breakeven three months earlier than had been expected and that it could beat its full-year sales growth target.
By 0828 GMT Dialog's shares were 15.5 percent higher at 2.98 euros, after touching a high of 3.09 euros, and outperforming the German technology TecDAX index , which was three percent higher.