Intel's quarterly profit and sales down, but beat expectations

Intel Corp. on Tuesday posted drops in its third-quarter profit and sales, which still both beat expectations.

The company said its net income was 1.9 billion U.S. dollars, down 7.8 percent from the same period a year earlier.

Earnings per share in the quarter were 33 cents, compared with 35 cents in the year-ago period but higher than analysts' estimate of 28 cents.

Intel's third-quarter revenue fell about 8 percent to 9.4 billion dollars, still higher than the company's own expectations.

The world's largest computer chip maker raised its third-quarter forecasts in August, saying that it expected revenue to be as high as 9.2 billion dollars.

"Intel's strong third-quarter results underscore that computing is essential to people's lives, proving the importance of technology innovation in leading an economic recovery," Paul Otellini, Intel's chief executive officer, said in a statement.

"This momentum in the current economic climate, plus our product leadership, gives us confidence about our business prospects going forward," he added.

According to Intel, its third-quarter revenue increased 1.4 billion dollars sequentially, representing the strongest second-to-third-quarter growth in over 30 years.

Looking ahead, the company said it expects fourth-quarter revenue to be in the range of 9.7 billion to 10.5 billion dollars, compared with analysts' estimate of 9.5 billion dollars.

Source: Xinhua