Even though Intel announced record sales for the fourth quarter from a strong holiday season, profits fell 2%.
Intel announced record quarterly revenue of $9.6 billion, up 13 percent from the third quarter and up 10 percent year-over-year. For the year, Intel achieved revenue of $34.2 billion, up 13.5 percent from 2003 and higher than the previous record of $33.7 billion set in 2000.
Fourth-quarter net income was $2.1 billion, up 11 percent sequentially and down 2 percent year-over-year. Earnings per share were 33 cents, up 10 percent sequentially and flat with the fourth quarter of 2003. Results for the third quarter of 2004 included tax-related items that increased earnings by approximately 3 cents per share.
“We ended 2004 with record revenues and robust demand for Intel architecture products across all geographies and channels,” stated Intel CEO Craig R. Barrett. “Our investments in manufacturing capacity, innovative new products and global presence have allowed us to post double-digit gains in both revenue and profits two years in a row. In 2005, we look forward to continued growth as we ramp our 65nm process technology and introduce our first dual-core microprocessors across a range of new platforms.”
For the year, net income of $7.5 billion was up 33 percent from $5.6 billion in 2003. Earnings per share were $1.16, up 36 percent from 85 cents in 2003. Intel paid record cash dividends of $1 billion, announced two doublings of the company’s cash dividend and used a record $7.5 billion to repurchase 300.5 million shares of common stock.
Murdok | Breaking eBusiness News
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