Declining PC sales hit Intel profits in the most recent quarter, although the company posted strong results overall. The company chose to highlight the positive, noting that it generated $4.3 billion in cash in the quarter and maintained revenues despite a soft market.
Intel posted net income of $2 billion on revenues of $12.6 billion. Net income was off 25 percent, but revenues were down almost imperceptibly from $12.9 billion in the same quarter a year ago.
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“Amidst market softness, Intel performed well in the first quarter, and I'm excited about what lies ahead for the company,” CEO Paul Otellini said. “We shipped our next-generation PC microprocessors, introduced a new family of products for micro-servers and will ship our new tablet and smartphone microprocessors this quarter."
Given recent news about PC sales, it’s not surprising, perhaps, that revenues for Intel’s PC client group fell 6 percent year-over-year to $8 billion. But the firm’s data center group saw revenues jump 7.5 percent to $2.6 billion.
With regards to the PC market, Intel struck a positive note, claiming that an upcoming processor upgrade codenamed “Haswell” would help it meet its yearly goals and rejuvenate sales in the second half of 2013. And more powerful Atom “Bay Trail” chips, due in late 2013, will shore up the low end of the market.
“We are working with our customers to introduce innovative new products across multiple operating systems,” Otellini said. “The transition to 14nm technology this year will significantly increase the value provided by Intel architecture and process technology for our customers and in the marketplace.”
Related: "PC Sales Tank Again in Q1 2013"
