Intel sees upturn as sales grow faster than expected

Chip maker revises forecasts due to higher-than-anticipated demand

Intel sales are up

Intel has seen stronger than expected demand for its products during its latest financial quarter, and has increased its sales forecast for the period as a result.

The company said that improved sales of processors and chipsets means it expects to achieve third quarter sales within $200m of $9bn revenue, up from a previous prediction of $8.5bn.

The chip maker has suffered in the past 12 months as demand for processors slumped due to reduced hardware spending in the recession.

Intel reported sales of $8bn in the second quarter, representing a loss of $398m compared to a profit of $1.6bn (£977m) in the same period last year.

First quarter results saw a year-on-year profit fall of 55 per cent, with revenue of $7.1bn, down 26 per cent on the same period in 2008.

In an interview with Computing in July, UK managing director Graham Palmer said the first half of the year showed real signs of an upturn for Intel’s business.

“The year-on-year view is skewed because Intel saw such an extreme market and inventory correction at the end of 2008, but the 12 per cent [sequential] increase in revenue compared to the first quarter of 2009 is the best we have ever seen,” he said at the time.

“We are seeing strong sales in the consumer sector, particularly around ultra-low voltage mobile parts for new categories of laptops [e-books and netbooks]. There has been 20 to 30 per cent sales growth here, and a lot of new incremental business from the Atom chips. “

Intel’s third quarter results will be announced on 13 October.