Processors Toolkit

AMD heading back into the red?

Michael Kanellos, CNET News.com CNet

Published: 18 Oct 2001 11:02 BST

AMD reported a net loss of nearly $190m for the third quarter, as the PC market remained mired in a slump and rival Intel continued its price war.

Losses, excluding special charges and other non-recurring events, totalled $97.4m, or 28 cents a share, which was roughly in line with analyst expectations. Including special items, the net loss for the third quarter came to $186.9m.

The California-based chipmaker reported third-quarter revenue of $765.9m, down 36 percent from a record $1.21bn a year ago. Revenue fell 22 percent from the second quarter's $985.3m.

AMD earlier this month warned it would post a net loss of between $90m and $110m because of a sluggish PC market, a vicious price war with Intel, and continuing declines in prices and demand for flash memory.

The losses, however, have hardly stopped. Although revenue could rise slightly in the fourth quarter, the company said in a statement that it is likely to report an operating loss in the fourth quarter.

Depending on the size of the loss, AMD could once again find it's saddled with a loss for the year. The year 2000 marked the company's first profitable year in five years.

For the first nine months, the company reported pro forma net earnings of $44.8m. If the loss for the fourth quarter exceeds that, results for 2001 could end up in the red.

"Operationally, we are doing great," AMD chief executive Jerry Sanders said in a conference call following the earnings announcement. "Yields are great. Costs are under control. ASPs (average selling prices) are ugly."

Sanders' statement is borne out partially by the numbers. The company shipped 7.7m PC processors in the third quarter, a record. Despite the price war, the company lost less than 1 percent of market share, he said. Average selling prices, however, declined by 20 percent. Revenue from processors dropped to $467m from $625 in the same period last year.

See techTrader for the latest financial news in the high-tech sector.

Have your say instantly, and see what others have said. Click on the TalkBack button and go to the techTrader forum

Let the editors know what you think in the Mailroom. And read other letters.