Intel gets record spring quarter and PC boost

Intel on Wednesday said it had healthy growth in its core PC chip business this spring in spite of pressure from tablets and and a tough PC market. Its PC Client Group, which handles most of its processors, saw its revenue go up 11 percent year-over-year. Only its Atom group declined, as tablets' impact on netbooks saw the low-power chips drop 15 percent.

The results were part of a fifth straight quarter of record results for Intel. Its revenue was up a sharp 22 percent from year to year to $13.1 billion, and its net profit was up 10 percent to $3.2 billion.

Company head Paul Otellini credited much of the growth to a mix of corporate demand and developing countries. He turned the rise of primarily ARM-based smartphones and tablets as a positive, claiming that the "surge of mobile devices" meant datacenters had to upgrade to handle the load.

Its outlook was optimistic and saw it gaining roughly a quarter more revenue in 2011 than it did in 2010. Intel predicted it would make $14 billion in revenue this summer.

The gains came in contrast to multiple analyst estimates for computer sales painted a bleak picture in terms of raw units. IDC's preliminary results saw world PC demand only growing 2.6 percent and declines in areas like the US. The decline of netbooks ushered in mostly by the iPad may have worked in Intel's favor by moving it away from low-profit Atom chips and towards full-power processors.

By Electronista Staff