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Intel has unveiled strong fourth quarter revenue up 8 per cent year on year, ending what the company described as "by far our most profitable year."
The strong demand in microprocessors equated to a record $43.6 billion dollar revenue, up 24 per cent on 2009. Intel’s CFO Stacy J. Smith said that the firm experienced strong growth in both the business and consumer PC markets.
In addition, Smith described the server market segment as "particiularly strong." The company cited an increase in average selling prices, record volumes and lower platform costs as contributing factors in managing to achieve a gross margin of 66 per cent.
Intel said that it expected first quarter 2011 revenue to reach $11.5 billion and that it was hopeful that the quarter would be flat with Q4 2010, avoiding the historical seasonal decline thanks to an extra week in the first quarter and strong sales of the new Sandy Bridge product range.
Riding a wave of renewed corporate confidence in IT spending coupled with the need to upgrade systems neglected throughout the financial crisis, Intel’s bottom line was lifted beyond analyst expectations by strong corporate demand.
The CES show also demonstrated strong support for Intel’s new chip ranges such as Sandy Bridge which the company believes will enable the chipmaker to continue the profits bull run through the first half of this year.
