Intel profits dip as glitch delays Broadwell chip

Intel has announced production of its next-generation PC chip, Broadwell, will be delayed by a quarter.

The Broadwell chips had been designed to run faster and more efficiently than the first processors in Intel’s Haswell line of micro-architecture processors.

Chief executive Brian Krzanich said the delay was due to a technical glitch, but dismissed the delay as “a small blip” in the schedule, according to the BBC.

However, the timing of the delay is unfortunate, as it coincides with a slight fall in profits for the third quarter as worldwide PC demand continues its fall.

Intel reported a net income of $2.95bn for the quarter ended September 30, 2013, compared with $2.97bn in the same period in 2012.

PC sales have fallen for six consecutive quarters, hitting a five-year low in the third quarter in the face of the growing popularity of tablets and smartphones.

"The third quarter came in as expected, with modest growth in a tough environment," Krzanich said in a statement.

However, the financial results show Intel’s strategy of diversification is paying off. The firm’s datacentre business reporting record sales of $2.9bn, up 12% compared with the same period in 2012 and 48% up on the previous quarter.

Overall, revenues were the same as the third quarter of 2012, but up 5% on previous quarter at $13.5bn.

Alluding to Intel’s diversification strategy and new focus on the mobile device market, Krzanich said: "We're executing on our strategy to offer an increasingly broad and diverse product portfolio that spans key growth segments, operating systems and form factors.”

He also pointed out that, since August 2013, Intel has introduced more than 40 new products for “market segments from the internet of things to datacentres, with an increasing focus on ultra-mobile devices and 2-in-1 systems."