The new iPhone 5S is displayed during an Apple product announcement at the Apple campus in Cupertino, California.

Shares of Apple supplier AMS tumbled 13 percent on Tuesday after the chipmaker warned about "subdued" smartphone demand.

The Austrian sensor specialist said it expects revenue in the first quarter of 2019 to fall to $350-390 million amid continued weak smartphone demand and first-quarter consumer market seasonality.

AMS said it would not pay a dividend for 2018 after its adjusted operating profit fell more than half in the fourth quarter, pulled down by slowing demand from a major customer and restructuring costs.

It generated adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of $61.9 million and revenue of $491 million in the three month through December, the Swiss-listed group which supplies Apple with sensors for face-recognition technology said.

AMS results added to a bleak earnings season for semiconductor companies and further stoked fears of an industry slowdown after sales warnings from Apple, Samsung and Taiwan Semiconductor last month pointed to stagnating smartphone demand and a cooling Chinese economy.

In a recent report, research firm IDC said 2018 was "the worst year ever" for smartphone shipments, with global shipments tumbling 4.1 percent.

German chipmaker Infineon Technologies on Tuesday revised down its guidance for full-year revenue growth and said it would trim investments, saying it faced an "increasingly difficult business environment".

"Reflecting a more volatile end market and macro-economic environment, AMS has decided to suspend its cash dividend policy for fiscal year 2018 to focus on strengthening its business position in 2019," AMS said.

Its shares were indicated nearly 10 percent lower in pre-market activity.

AMS provides Apple with optical sensors for 3D facial recognition features on its newest iPhones and generates around 45 percent of sales from that, according to analysts. Lower-than-expected demand for these phones, especially in China, has put pressure on AMS.