Intel Doubles Net Income In Fourth Quarter

Intel Corp. on Wednesday reported that net income more than doubled for the fourth quarter, driven by improving demand in its traditional PC market and continued strength in new markets such as mobile devices and the digital home.Net income for the quarter ended Dec. 31 was $2.2 billion, up 107 percent from the same period a year ago, the Santa Clara, Calif., chipmaker said. Earnings per share rose 106 percent to 33 cents a share.

Revenue for the quarter was $8.74 billion, increasing 22 percent from a year ago and surpassing the record $8.73 billion in revenue Intel posted in the third quarter of 2000.

"We ended the year on a high note as ongoing strength in emerging markets coupled with improving demand in established markets drove revenue to record levels," Craig R. Barrett, chief executive of Intel, said. "Intel's substantial investments in capital and R&D over the past few years allowed us to ship record microprocessor units in 2003 and introduce exciting new products such as Intel Centrino mobile technology."

For the full year, Intel posted net income of $5.6 billion, or 85 cents per share, an 81 percent jump from 2002. Revenue was $30.1 billion, a 13 percent increase.

Revenue for the first quarter of this year is expected to be between $7.9 billion and $8.5 billion, company officials said. Gross margin is expected to be about 60 percent, plus or minus a couple of points, for the quarter; and 62 percent, plus or minus a few points, for the year. Gross margin for 2003 was 57 percent."In 2004, our focus will be to drive double-digit growth through technology leadership and global market expansion, and by pursuing adjacent opportunities in communications and the digital home, while using our 90-nanometer and 300-millimeter factories to reduce costs and improve profitability," Barrett said.