from CNNFN:
AMD shreds 1Q estimates
Chip maker credits strong sales of Athlon processors, flash memory
By Staff Writer Richard Richtmyer
April 12, 2000: 8:10 p.m. ET
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Advanced Micro Devices on Wednesday reported a first-quarter profit that blew past expectations, which executives attributed to strong sales growth across all of the computer-chip maker's product lines.
And executives at AMD (AMD: Research, Estimates) in Sunnyvale, Calif., said they see strong growth throughout the rest of the year.
For the quarter ended April 2, AMD said it earned $189.3 million, or $1.15 per share, nearly double the 58 cents-per-share profit analysts polled by earnings tracker First Call had expected from the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company.
Sales for the quarter were $1.09 billion, which is up 73 percent from last year's first quarter, and up 13 percent sequentially. The fourth quarter is typically stronger for semiconductor companies because of an increase in sales of PCs during the holiday season.
"AMD had the best quarter in its history," said W.J. Sanders III, AMD's chairman and chief executive, in a conference call with analysts Wednesday.
The quarter's better-than-expected revenue did not come as a surprise. AMD told investors last week that the company was on track to post record sales.
The most recent quarter was the second in a row during which AMD blew past earnings expectations. During the fourth quarter, the company posted net income of 43 cents per share, while analysts had been expecting the company to earn just a penny per share.
AMD shares ended Wednesday's session down 6-1/8, or 8.7 percent, at 64-1/2, amid a broader sell-off in chip stocks, which dragged the Philadelphia Stock Exchange's semiconductor index 8.3 percent lower to 1,037.7.
In after-hours trade on MarketXT, AMD shares were quoted at 80.
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