Progress, sort of
Fabless chip-maker AMD finally registered its first profitable quarter in three years in Q4 of 2009, but it would not have moved into profit were it not for a $1.25 billion payout from rival Intel to settle the longstanding legal dispute between the two.
AMD's net income for the quarter, including the Intel lump-sum, was £1.177 billion. Revenue was $1.644 billion, which was well ahead of Wall Street expectations in the region of $1.49 billion. This represented 42 percent year-on-year revenue growth, driven by a good holiday period, increased spending on servers and the continuing popularity of its Radeon 5000 series graphics cards.
"AMD's quarter marks another milestone in our transformation and underscores our growing momentum," said Dirk Meyer, AMD president and CEO. "We enter 2010 having completed the transition to a fabless business model, reached a historic antitrust settlement, and made significant progress strengthening our balance sheet. Our innovative strategy for designing the world's most vivid digital experiences continues to generate demand."
To be fair to AMD, it also had to account for its share of a net loss from GlobalFoundries, which amounted to $138 million, so it would have managed a profit all by itself were it not for that. On the downside AMD forecast Q1 to be seasonally down on a year ago, which if you consider the macroeconomic environment then is disappointing.
