SUNNYVALE, Calif.-- Advanced Micro Devices Inc. bounced back to profitability in the fourth quarter last year on the strength of PC processor shipments and a strong demand for flash memories. The company today reported a net income of $65.1 million on record sales of $968.7 million in the period, ended Dec. 26.
AMD's PC processor shipments grew 35% to 6 million units in the quarter, ended Dec. 26. Processor revenues were up 67% from the third quarter, but only 1% higher than the fourth quarter in 1998. AMD did achieve its goal of shipping one million Althon processors in 1999 with more than 800,000 units sold in the final three months of last year, said W.J. Sanders III, chairman and CEO of the Sunnyvale, Calif.
AMD's fourth-quarter sales were 46% higher than the $662.2 million posted in the third quarter, when the company reported a net loss of $105.5 million. In the fourth quarter of 1998, AMD's recorded a net income of $22.3 million on sales of $788.8 million.
"Our results reflected both the seasonal boost in already-robust semiconductor demand and the successful achievement of our aggressive goals for the AMD Athlon processor," declared Sanders. "Sales growth of AMD Athlon processors alone contributed more than half of our greater than $300
million sequential sales growth. Seasonal strength in the PC market also enabled us to grow sales sequentially from our AMD-K6 processor family on near-record unit volumes."
Sanders said 80% of the wafers used to make Athlon processors were processed with 0.18-micron technology. By February, he expects 100% of those processors to be fabricated with the 0.18-micron technology.
AMD said its Memory Group's sales increased 33% to $275 million in the fourth quarter compared to $206 million in the third quarter as demand for flash memory exceeded supply.
