Intel Q3 net income dips 7.9%

World's biggest computer chip maker Intel reported a fall of 7.9 per cent in net income in the third quarter but remains bullish about prospects in the fourth quarter.

The company has reported a net income of $1.85 billion in the third quarter this year compared to $2.01 billion in the year-ago period, Intel said.

Intel's third quarter net revenue grew sequentially to $9.4 billion against $1.4 billion in Q2, supported by improved demand for microprocessors and chip-set units.

The company stated the sequential growth in revenue was the 'strongest second-to-third-quarter growth in over 30 years.'

In its outlook for the fourth quarter, Intel is expecting revenue in the range of $10.5 billion to $9.7 billion, the statement said.

The chip maker's business seems to be on a recovery path as the fall in the company's revenue for the third quarter slowed down to eight per cent compared to the same period last year, an improvement from 15 per cent and 26 per cent y-o-y declines in the second and first quarter, respectively.

"Intel's strong Q3 results underscore that computing is essential to people's lives, proving importance of technology innovation in leading an economic recovery," Intel president and CEO Paul Otellini said.

About the guidance for the fourth quarter, Intel chief financial officer Stacy Smith said, 'the midpoint of this range would be an increase of 7.6 per cent from the third quarter, which is consistent with the average historical season increase.'

Besides, the company is projecting capital expenditure of $4.5 billion plus or minus $100 million in Q4.

On a geographic basis, Europe performed seasonally, while other regions performed significantly better than the average seasonal patterns, the company said.

The Asia-pacific region posted revenue of $5.32 billion in the third quarter of 2009 against $5.38 billion in year-ago period.

While in the US, revenue stood at $1.82 billion in the September quarter against $1.88 billion in the previous quarter last year.

The company saw robust sequential growth in revenues in both mobility group and digital enterprises group of 19 per cent and 14 per cent, respectively.

While, Intel Atom micro architecture revenue, including microprocessor and associated chip-sets was $415 million in third quarter, up 15 per cent from second quarter.

For nine months ended September 26, 2009, Intel registered a net income of $2.08 billion compared to $5.05 billion in the year earlier.

The company's revenue decreased to $12.72 billion in the nine month from $16.47 billion in the same period ending September 27 last year.