Intel settlement leaves AMD in the black

by Stevie Smith - Jan 22 2010, 05:45

As the technology recession continues to pack its bags, chipmaker AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) has become the latest industry player to show definite growth after posting its first quarterly profits in three years.

However, AMD’s current position in the black is not necessarily due to the sales momentum of its product portfolio.

More pointedly, California-based AMD’s Q4 report would have been firmly in the red had it not been for the sizeable $1.25 billion USD settlement it received from market leader and bitter rival Intel Corp. following a long legal tussle involving claims of anti-competitive practice.

According to AMD, the company made $1.2 billion USD during the fourth quarter of 2009 (ending on December 26), which is a considerable surge when compared to the $1.4 billion USD loss it registered during the same period in 2008.

That being said, a related report published by AP notes that the subtraction of Intel’s cash settlement leaves AMD’s business suffering a fourth-quarter shortfall of around $57 million USD.

In terms of figures for the whole of 2009, AMD’s net income is placed at $304 million USD against total revenue of around $5.4 billion USD, while it had a net loss of $3.1 billion USD and revenue of $5.8 billion USD.     

AMD’s somewhat skewed but favourable figures follow the corporate chest beating offered up by Intel last week, when the world’s leading microprocessor manufacturer revealed net income of $2.3 billion USD, which equates to a massive 875 percent year-on-year gain.

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