Tax item boosts Intel's quarterly profit
Amid fierce price war with rival AMD, Intel overhauls chip line and reports strong numbers.
Intel said that first-quarter net profit was $1.6 billion, or 27 cents per share, compared to $1.36 billion, or 23 cents per share, a year earlier. It said
Revenue fell less than 1 percent to $8.85 billion.
Intel was expected to have earned $1.28 billion, or 22 cents per share, on revenue of $8.96 billion, according to the average forecast of Wall Street analysts on Reuters Estimates. That estimate includes $50 million in restructuring costs but not the tax item that boosted earnings.
The chipmaker has been locked in a price war with its smaller rival, AMD, which said last week that quarterly sales would be about 20 percent below expectations due to falling prices and lower unit shipments.
Intel overhauled its entire line of processors last year in an effort to stop or reverse big market-share gains by AMD, whose chips were widely considered to be more powerful and energy efficient. Over the past year, Intel's shares have risen 9 percent while AMD's have fallen 56 percent.
This week, the company is holding its Intel Developer Forum in Beijing.