Chip maker Intel last night reported a 39% drop in its fourth quarter profit compared with a year earlier to $1.5 billion. The figure was still better than analysts expected.
The company, which employs 5,500 in Ireland, said revenues for the quarter were $9.7 billion, with record high sales of microprocessors and flash memory. That was ahead of the average Wall Street forecast of $9.4 billion.
Earnings per share were slightly better than expected at 26 cents, despite a price war with rival Advanced Micro Devices.
Intel said it ended the year with its workforce trimmed to 94,100 from 102,500 as a result of lay-offs and restructuring announced in September of last year and predicted it was on track to cut costs by $2 billion in 2007.
