UPDATE 1-Intel Corp says on track for better 2005 performance
Thu Nov 18, 2004 07:03 AM ET
(Adds quotes, detail)
By Shailendra Bhatnagar
NEW DELHI, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Intel Corp., the world's largest maker of computer microchips, expects a much better performance in the first half of next year, Chief Executive Craig Barrett said on Thursday.
In October Intel, a bellwether for the technology sector, reported a 15 percent rise in third quarter earnings of $1.91 billion, on the back of record sales in Asia and a stronger demand for notebook and server computer chips.
"I am looking at a much improved performance in the first half of 2005 than what is was in the first half of 2004," Barrett, who is on a two-day visit to India, told reporters, but did not elaborate.
"I think we are on track for improved performance. We were not meeting our own standards of performance earlier this year."
Intel, whose microprocessors power more than 80 percent of the world's personal computers, will introduce chips based on state-of-the-art 65-nanometre technology by the second half of next year.
"I believe we will be the first major corporation to have production of that technology," Barrett added. "We already have two microprocessors designed on that technology that are running in our manufacturing plants today."
A nanometre is one-billionth of a metre, and the circuitry is used to produce smaller, faster and more energy-efficient chips than those currently in the market.
CHIP MAKING UNIT IN INDIA?
Barrett said the chipmaker was also evaluating India as one of the options for setting up a chip manufacturing unit.
"India is one of the several countries that we are evaluating for setting up a manufacturing facility. India is one of the competitors."
While India has become a magnet for global firms to outsource their software requirements, the country is still not considered a world class manufacturing destination owing to its creaky infrastructure and restrictive labour laws.
Santa Clara, California-based Intel (INTC.O: Quote, Profile, Research) has a large development centre in India's technology capital, Bangalore.
The unit, which houses 2,300 engineers, designs and develops software to power chips that drive computers and high-end networks for Internet-based applications.
Barrett said the company planned to raise the headcount at the centre. Overall, Intel has 2,400 employees in India, a 50 percent increase in staff this year.
India's $12.5 billion software service industry has created some 550,000 software and 280,000 back-office positions and the sector is growing at more than 30 percent a year.
Intel, and global firms such as Motorola Inc. (MOT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , have heavily outsourced high-end functions like chip design to India to benefit from the country's highly educated but low-cost software pool. (Additional reporting by Surojit Gupta and and Unni Krishnan) |
