Intel profit jumps 51 percent
SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) — Computer chip giant Intel Corp. on Tuesday reported fourth quarter profits rose 51 percent from a year ago to 2.3 billion dollars, roughly in line with most Wall Street estimates.
The world's biggest chipmaker said its earnings for the quarter amounted to 38 cents per share, in line with forecasts after stripping out special charges for restructuring.
The results pushed up the full-year profit for the California firm to 7.0 billion dollars.
Revenues in the quarter advanced to 10.7 billion dollars, up 10.5 percent from a year ago. Revenues for the year rose to 38.3 billion dollars.
The company, which is in a fierce battle with Advanced Micro Devices for the computer market and is diversifying into a wider range of chips, said its gross profit margin was 58 percent in the quarter, up 8.5 points year-over-year.
"2007 was a breakthrough year for innovation at Intel," said Paul Otellini, Intel president and chief executive.
"We realized the benefits of our investments in new products and our efforts to drive efficiencies .... We enter 2008 with the best combination of products, silicon technology and manufacturing leadership in our history."
Results for the fourth quarter of 2007 included the effects of restructuring and other charges that reduced operating income by 234 million dollars and per-share earnings by around 2.5 cents, the company said.
Intel said it posted record shipments of microprocessors and chipsets for the fourth quarter of 2007 and the year. It has also introduced processors designed to bring the Internet to consumer electronics devices for mobile devices and the home.
Looking ahead, Intel said it sees revenues in the range of 9.4 billion to 10 billion dollars in the first quarter with profit margins around 56 percent.
