AMD Reports Higher 3Q Sales

For the three months ended Sept. 26, the Sunnyvale-based company earned $43.85 million, or 12 cents per share, compared with a loss of $31.2 million, or 9 cents per share, in the same period last year. Third-quarter sales rose 30 percent to $1.24 billion from $954 million in 2003.

The earnings were in line with Wall Street expectations, though analysts were expecting sales of about $1.3 billion, according to a survey by Thomson First Call.

Profits were driven by a 34 percent increase over last year in the sales of microprocessors -- the brains of personal computers and servers, said Robert Rivet, AMD's chief financial officer. Sales, in fact, increased across all markets, the company said.

Revenue from flash memory chips used in digital cameras, cell phones and other devices increased 27 percent over the third quarter of 2003. AMD, however, said sales of memory used in specifically in wireless handsets "declined significantly."

The results were announced after financial markets closed. Earlier in the day, AMD shares finished at $14.11, up 14 cents on the New York Stock Exchange. They fell a penny in early extended-session trading. Since the start of the year, AMD shares are down 5 percent.

Intel will report its third-quarter results on Tuesday.

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