Intel rakes in more profits

CHIPZILLA has been raking in the dosh this year and recorded one of its best quarters ever.

The figures appear to show that companies are starting to buy technology after the recession.

Intel's first-quarter revenue of $10.3bn was down slightly compared to the final quarter of 2009, but second-quarter revenue is predicted to climb as high as $10.6 billion.

But profits rose by seven percent to $2.4 billion compared to the previous quarter.

Corporate executives, more confident about their prospects, are replacing ageing machinery, Intel chief executive Paul Otellini said.

However there was an element that Intel's surge was mostly still consumer driven. Intel is mostly flogging chips for home units rather than for company servers.

While Chipzilla has been making Wall Street happy, it is not having much luck convincing shareholders that it is doing that well. Since last year Intel has consistently done better than Wall Street predicted, but Intel's share price has actually dropped. Since the fourth quarter of last year stock declined about nine percent that earnings season.

Apparently shareholders believe that Intel's stonking figures are not based on demand at all. Chip orders were being driven by customers building up inventory and in the long term that would be a bad thing. µ