Advanced Micro Devices has reported strong revenue
growth bringing the company back to profitability in the fourth
quarter.
AMD reported net income of $43m (£30m) on revenue of $1.2bn for
the period which ended 28 December. This compares with a net loss
of $855m on revenue of $686m in the fourth quarter of 2002.
The fourth quarter results included a $14m benefit related to
restructuring charges and accounting for the introduction of the
company's FASL flash memory joint venture with Fujitsu.
AMD's Computation Products Group led the company's improvement
over last year's fourth-quarter results, recording revenue of
$581m, up 38% from the fourth quarter of 2002. This group
manufactures and sells the company's microprocessors, including the
Opteron and Athlon 64 processors introduced in 2003.
Sales of both 64-bit processors were strong. Demand for the
company's Athlon XP processors also increased in the fourth
quarter.
Flash memory sales increased 161% from the fourth quarter of
2002 to $566m for this year's fourth quarter. AMD believed it
gained market share in flash memory during the quarter.
For the full year, AMD posted revenue of $3.5bn and a net loss
of $274mn. This compares with revenue of $2.7bn and a net loss of
$1.3bn in 2002.
Tom Krazit writes for IDG News Service