AMD logs 20 per cent revenue rise despite flat Q4

Company remains confident of strong sales in the tablet market in 2011

AMD has reported a 20 per cent increase in revenues over the past 12 months, despite a poor fourth quarter and the resignation of its chief executive.

The firm announced revenues of $6.49bn (£4.06bn) for the year, but a mere two per cent increase in the last quarter against the previous period.

Falling microprocessor prices contributed to a fall in profits, the firm said, contributing to much of the quarterly gross margin slump of 45 per cent.

The surprise departure of chief executive Dirk Meyer during the fourth quarter may have rattled the company.

Pund-IT principal analyst Charles King told V3.co.uk at the time that Meyer had performed the job that needed to be done, namely integrating ATI, developing the Fusion platform and getting the next-generation Opteron chips out to the market.

However, King added that, after 15 years, the board may have felt it was time for a replacement.

"In a way Meyer was tying up [former AMD chief executive Hector] Ruiz's loose ends, and maybe the board felt it was time to find someone with a more long-term strategic view," he said.

Thomas Seifert, chief operating officer and interim chief executive at AMD, was bullish about the firm's prospects when announcing the financials.

"AMD enters 2011 with significant momentum, amplified by the successful launch of our first Fusion APUs. I am confident we can drive profitable growth based on the strength of new products we will bring to market," he said.

"Our customers recognise that Fusion APUs are at the core of delivering the world's most vivid digital experiences."

Although microprocessor returns decreased over the year, AMD is expecting to increase its business thanks to commitments from Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Sony and others to use its APUs in mobile PCs.