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Intel's profit, sales down in fourth quarter of 2012SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 17, 2013 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Computer chip giant Intel on Thursday reported that its profit dropped nearly 27 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012. For the last three months of 2012, Intel's net income fell to 2. 5 billion U.S. dollars from 3.4 billion dollars in the year-ago quarter. The company also saw a decline of sales. Its revenue was 13.5 billion dollars in the quarter, down about 3 percent from 13.9 billion dollars in the same period in 2011. The results were in line with analysts' estimates and were seen as a reflection of the sluggish personal computer (PC) market. Latest numbers from research firm IDC showed that worldwide PC shipments fell 6.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012, representing the first time in more than five years that the PC market saw a year-on-year decline during the holiday season. According to IDC analysts, the launch of Microsoft's Windows 8 new operating system failed to provide a quick boost to PC sales in the fourth quarter, as the PC market continued to struggle with economic uncertainties as well as consumers' shift from PC to smartphones and tablet computers. "The fourth quarter played out largely as expected as we continued to execute through a challenging environment," Paul Otellini, Intel's chief executive officer, said in a statement. "As we enter 2013, our strong product pipeline has us well positioned to bring a new wave of Intel innovations across the spectrum of computing," he added. |