Fusion Sales Help Lead AMD To Q2 Profit
AMD reported second quarter revenue of $1.57 billion, down from $1.65 billion in the same quarter last year. Net income grew to $61 million on earnings of 8 cents per share, up from a loss of $43 million from the year-ago quarter.
Earnings increased during both Q1 and Q2, but the price of AMD shares has dropped more than 25 percent since the resignation of former CEO Dirk Meyer in January. The unfilled CEO position has some partners worried, but AMD's view is that Siefert and his executive team are doing so well that AMD can afford to take its time in finding his replacement.
"Thanks to the hard work of AMD’s management team led by Thomas Seifert, the company continues to execute well on its priorities and strategy and our operations remain sound," an AMD spokesperson said in an e-mail to CRN on Thursday. "This has afforded the Board the flexibility and latitude to invest in the time to find the right candidate with the vision and experience to lead AMD into the future."
AMD said earnings were driven by APU sales, including the recently launched A-series Fusion chip, code-named Llano. The Llano accelerated processor unit (APU) includes a four-core CPU, DirectX 11 graphics support and more than 10 hours of battery life. The chip is primarily intended for high-end and mainstream notebooks as well as mainstream desktops.
“Today’s computing experience is increasingly being defined by the ability to deliver brilliant multimedia and video content with all day battery life," said Seifert in a statement. "Fusion APUs are ideal to meet this need, positioning AMD to gain unit market share in the mobile computing space.”
An accelerated tablet roadmap will be part of AMD's strategy moving forward, Seifert said. This comes over six months after Meyer resigned amid reports that AMD's board was concerned with the company's lack of a presence in the tablet market. Seifert said an optimized APU for tablets will launch in 2013.
AMD estimates a 10 percent increase in revenue for Q3 based on strong expectations for APU sales.