AMD says PC sales on the rise, quarter will be better

CHIP FIRM AMD moved to lighten the gloom on the X86 market by saying sales for the fourth quarter are likely to be better than it expected.

In a statement, it said sales will approach $700 million, a 35 per cent increase, because of stronger than expected demand for desktop CPUs.

High density flash memory devices are also selling strongly, it said.

The estimate means an increase of 35 per cent over sales in its third quarter 2002 of $508 million, but AMD had warned then to expect only a 20 per cent increase in this quarter.

The firm said flash memory product sales for high end mobile phones, continue to be strong, but also said that PC processors had sold better than it had expected.

That, it said, was the result of a "more competitive and richer product mix" and "increased seasonal demand for personal computers". µ

* INTEL RELEASES its mid-quarter estimates in an analyst call later today. If AMD has sold more desktop CPUs than expected, it's fair to say that will be true of Intel, too.