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Intel Profit Falls on Spinoff Costs; Forecast Tops Estimates
By Ian King

April 15 (Bloomberg) -- Intel Corp., the world's biggest chipmaker, reported a 12 percent drop in profit on costs to spin off a business. Sales this quarter may top analysts' estimates as the company takes customers from Advanced Micro Devices Inc.

First-quarter net income declined to $1.44 billion, or 25 cents a share, from $1.64 billion, or 28 cents, a year earlier, Santa Clara, California-based Intel said today in a statement sent by Business Wire. Intel spent $300 million to shed a money- losing business. Sales gained 9.3 percent to $9.67 billion.

The sales forecast reassured investors that the market for personal-computer chips hasn't stalled. Advanced Micro, Intel's biggest rival, said last week that its first-quarter sales were about $1.5 billion, missing its projections. Some analysts were concerned that the slump had stricken the whole industry, rather than just Advanced Micro.

``People might now say maybe it's safe to put your feet in the water here,'' said Hans Mosesmann, an analyst at Raymond James & Associates Inc. He has a ``strong buy'' rating on Intel's stock, which he doesn't own. ``They have a super product lineup, and AMD is in a death spiral.''

Intel rose 22 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $20.91 at 4 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The stock has lost 22 percent this year.

Second-quarter sales will be $9 billion to $9.6 billion, Intel said. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg estimated sales of $9.25 billion.

Earnings Season

Analysts had predicted that Intel would report first-quarter net income of 25 cents a share on sales of $9.65 billion, according to the Bloomberg survey. The year-earlier results included a tax benefit of $300 million, or 5 cents a share.

Intel, whose results serve as a bellwether for computer demand, kicked off earnings season for U.S. technology companies. International Business Machines Corp., the world's biggest computer-services company, will report its first-quarter results tomorrow, followed by Advanced Micro on April 17.

Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg have cut their projections for first-quarter earnings at S&P 500 companies every week since Jan. 4. They now predict a 12.3 percent drop, compared with an estimate for an increase of 4.7 percent at the start of 2008.

Analysts such as JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s Chris Danely were concerned that demand for PCs was falling and that chipmakers had produced too many chips. Danely lowered his estimates for Intel earnings this year to $1.36 a share on sales of $40.3 billion. He had predicted $1.44 a share on $40.7 billion in revenue.

Flash Memory

Intel said last month that a glut of flash memory, which stores data in mobile devices such as Apple Inc.'s iPhone, was hurting first-quarter profit. The company entered the market for so-called Nand flash after forming a joint venture with Micron Technology Inc. in 2005.

``They entered the market at absolutely the wrong time,'' said Gus Richard, an analyst at Piper Jaffray & Co. He has a neutral rating on the stock, which he doesn't own. ``Their timing couldn't have been worse if they'd tried.''

On March 31, Intel and STMicroelectronics NV announced the completion of their joint venture Numonyx, a combination of their Nor flash memory businesses. Nor flash is used to store programs in mobile phones.

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