Intel Corporation said last night that its third-quarter net income rose 4.6% to $1.995 billion amid strong demand for chips used in laptop computers.
The profit amounted to 32 cents a share. But excluding special items it was 34 cents a share, a cent ahead of Wall Street estimates.
Revenue grew 17.6% to $9.96 billion. Intel also said it expected revenues for the fourth quarter in a range of $10.2 billion to $10.8 billion.
'In the third quarter, we achieved all-time records in company revenue and unit shipments across all of our major product lines,' Paul Otellini, Intel president and chief executive said.
The results included a preliminary $140m charge for a litigation settlement and a reserve of $250m for taxes on repatriated earnings under a law allowing a one-time reduction in taxes on profits brought back from overseas.
Sales of laptop chips have helped Intel sidestep weaker sales of desktop personal computers this year. California-based Intel commands more than 80% of the market for PC chips.
Intel said average selling prices for its microprocessors remained stable in the quarter, while prices for its flash memory chips increased.
For the quarter ended October 1, the chip giant's gross margin - a closely-watched indicator of profitability - came in at 59.7% of sales, just below the company's target of 60%.
