AMD has best quarter ever

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) reported the best quarter in the company’s

troubled financial history with profits of $189.3 million and sales of $1.09

billion. That compares to a loss of $128.4 million on sales of $631.5 million

in the same quarter a year ago.

"Q1 was a great start to the new millennium at AMD. The Athlon is clearly

a home run," said company chairman Jerry Sanders III referring to the

firm’s K7 line of high-end microprocessors that offer speeds of 700

megahertz to 1 gigahertz. Sanders contradicted reports issued this week on

Wall Street that has the PC market growing slower than was expected in the

first quarter. Sanders said demand for microprocessors does not support the

pessimism that sent Microsoft and other high-tech stock tumbling this week.

"We think the PC market is strong and it's getting stronger," Sanders

said.

Sanders said each of AMD's product groups reported significant growth in the

first quarter. Unit sales of Athlon processors increased by 50 percent to 1.2

million units, boosting overall PC processor revenues by 14 percent from the

fourth quarter of 1999 and by more than 65 percent over the first quarter of

1999. "We believe that with product upgrade cycles, Windows 2000 and the

forthcoming Windows Millennium, the PC market will generally grow in the high

teens this year. Our previous goal of selling more than 25 million processors

this year could prove conservative." Total unit sales, including the AMD

Athlon and AMD-K6 processors, reached a record at nearly 6.5 million units,

and revenues from AMD Athlon processors exceeded revenues from AMD-K6 family

processors. But AMD is still seeing strong sales of its K6 line. "We are

selling all we can make of the K6," Sanders said, adding that sales in the

current second quarter will rise modestly (5-10 percent) from the $1.1 billion

in the most recent quarter. Unit shipments of Athlon processors will rise to

1.8 million units.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) reported the best quarter in the company’s

troubled financial history with profits of $189.3 million and sales of $1.09

billion. That compares to a loss of $128.4 million on sales of $631.5 million

in the same quarter a year ago.

"Q1 was a great start to the new millennium at AMD. The Athlon is clearly

a home run," said company chairman Jerry Sanders III referring to the

firm’s K7 line of high-end microprocessors that offer speeds of 700

megahertz to 1 gigahertz. Sanders contradicted reports issued this week on

Wall Street that has the PC market growing slower than was expected in the

first quarter. Sanders said demand for microprocessors does not support the

pessimism that sent Microsoft and other high-tech stock tumbling this week.

"We think the PC market is strong and it's getting stronger," Sanders

said.

Sanders said each of AMD's product groups reported significant growth in the

first quarter. Unit sales of Athlon processors increased by 50 percent to 1.2

million units, boosting overall PC processor revenues by 14 percent from the

fourth quarter of 1999 and by more than 65 percent over the first quarter of

1999. "We believe that with product upgrade cycles, Windows 2000 and the

forthcoming Windows Millennium, the PC market will generally grow in the high

teens this year. Our previous goal of selling more than 25 million processors

this year could prove conservative." Total unit sales, including the AMD

Athlon and AMD-K6 processors, reached a record at nearly 6.5 million units,

and revenues from AMD Athlon processors exceeded revenues from AMD-K6 family

processors. But AMD is still seeing strong sales of its K6 line. "We are

selling all we can make of the K6," Sanders said, adding that sales in the

current second quarter will rise modestly (5-10 percent) from the $1.1 billion

in the most recent quarter. Unit shipments of Athlon processors will rise to

1.8 million units.