Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : Technical analysis for shorts & longs -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Johnny Canuck who wrote (44727)	4/16/2008 2:52:53 AM
From: Johnny Canuck	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 68655

ntel posts lower profit with upbeat outlook Shares jump in after-hours following chipmaker's forecast By Benjamin Pimentel, MarketWatch Last update: 6:58 p.m. EDT April 15, 2008 PrintPrint EmailE-mail Subscribe to RSSRSS DisableDisable Live Quotes SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Intel Corp. said Tuesday that earnings fell 12% during the first quarter, weighed down by a major restructuring charge. But the chipmaker also issued an upbeat forecast for the current period, which sent Intel shares up 7% in after-hours trading. Intel (INTC: Intel Corporation News, chart, profile, more Last: 20.91+0.22+1.06% 4:00pm 04/15/2008 Delayed quote data Add to portfolio Analyst Create alert Insider Discuss Financials Sponsored by: INTC 20.91, +0.22, +1.1%) said it earned $1.44 billion, or 25 cents a share, in the first quarter, compared with profit of $1.64 billion, or 28 cents a share, for the year-earlier period. Revenue was $9.7 billion, up from $8.85 billion the previous year. Intel's revenue was boosted by strong sales across all regions, and a particularly strong server business, CEO Paul Otellini said in a call with analysts. He also reaffirmed the shift to mobility in the personal computer market, and said the company now expects "the shipment crossover of desktop PCs to mobile PCs will now happen this year and not next year as we originally anticipated." The company said the quarter included charges of 4 cents a share related to restructuring and asset impairment. Intel was expected to report earnings of 28 cents a share on revenue of $9.65 billion, according to a survey of analysts by FactSet Research. The semiconductor giant said it expects second-quarter revenue of between $9 billion and $9.6 billion. The mid-point is slightly higher than the consensus projection of $9.26 billion, according to FactSet data. The company also predicted gross margins of 56% for the second quarter. In a statement, Otellini said the company got a boost from a "solid global market" and healthy demand for its microprocessors and chipsets in all its business segments. He also pointed to the company's edge in state-of-the-art 45 nanometer manufacturing technology which analysts say has allowed Intel to pull away from rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc News, chart, profile, more Last: 5.78-0.08-1.37% 4:02pm 04/15/2008 Delayed quote data Add to portfolio Analyst Create alert Insider Discuss Financials Sponsored by: AMD 5.78, -0.08, -1.4%) "We remain optimistic about our growth opportunities as we continue to reap the benefits of our 45-nanometer technology leadership," he said in a statement. However, Intel acknowledged ongoing problems with its NAND flash memory chip business, where revenue was flat as a result of the industry-wide problems with falling prices due to oversupply. The company lowered its gross margin projections in March as a result of lower than expected NAND flash revenue. For the first quarter, Intel reported gross margin of 53.8% in line with the company's expectations. Analyst Roger Kay of Endpoint Technologies Associates said Intel reported healthy results "given the overall business climate," but noted that overseas demand may have helped boost its performance. "The impact of any diminution of demand from the economy may not be felt until later in the year," he said. "Intel's outlook statement looks pretty strong though. ... I'm a little surprised there's not more caution in the statements given the background economic situation. Overseas may be compensating." Analyst Crawford Del Prete of International Data Corp. said that while Intel's performance could suggest "a delay in the downturn hitting Intel." "But given that they are a leading indicator, due to product lead times, it says PCs have been moving well and inventories do not seem to be significant building," he said. Analyst John Dryden of Charter Equity Research noted that he had expected Intel to post market share gains against AMD. "The above seasonal strength in microprocessors for the June period is unlikely the result of end-demand exceeding expectations, which implies further share gain in the second quarter," he said. End of Story Benjamin Pimentel is a MarketWatch reporter based in San Francisco.