Friday, March 5, 2004
Intel today, lowered its quarterly forecast by $100 million -- missing Wall Street expectations -- as an oversupply of computer chips to Asia sapped sales to the region.
Intel, the world's largest chip maker, said it now expected revenue of $8.0 billion to $8.2 billion, with a midpoint of $8.1 billion. In January, the Santa Clara, California-based company had forecast revenue of $7.9 billion to $8.5 billion, with a midpoint of $8.2 billion.
"We had some inventory build in Asia and Japan in the first quarter, which we think has been resolved by now, but was out there," Chief Financial Officer Andy Bryant told analysts during a scheduled mid-quarter conference call.
Ashok Kumar, a semiconductor analyst with Piper Jaffray, said there may be a glut of notebook computers on the market, which could mean that computer makers need fewer Intel chips in the first quarter.
"The writing was on the wall," Kumar said. "I think the market was oversupplied in the December quarter."
On a brighter note, Bryant reiterated the company's previous outlook on corporate technology spending, saying there is an "awakening but not a rush" by corporations to upgrade computers.
"What will most likely happen is over the next year people would gradually say, now is the time to replace my equipment," he said.
By: DocMemory
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