Advanced Micro Devices Inc. lost $140 million in the second quarter, more than $40 million less than it lost in the same period last year.
In addition, during the three months that ended June 29, sales jumped 7 percent, from $600 million last year to $645 million this year, the Sunnyvale, Calif., company announced on Wednesday.
AMD also announced that it will launch its 64-bit desktop and notebook chips, the Athlon 64 family, Sept. 23 in San Francisco.
During a conference call with analysts, CEO Hector Ruiz said that during a difficult economic time, combined with the SARS outbreak in Asia, AMD saw some success, particularly with the launch of its 64-bit Opteron server chip and an agreement with Fujitsu Ltd. that gave birth to a new flash memory company, called FASL LLC.
The new company—which will market its products under the brand name Spansion and through the AMD and Fujitsu sales forces—is the result of an extension of a 10-year partnership between the two companies in developing flash memory technology, used in such devices as cell phones and personal digital assistants.
“We believe were on track to be the worlds largest flash provider in the near future,” Ruiz said, taking aim at rival Intel Corp.
He also pointed to Opteron and the upcoming Athlon 64 desktop chip as key components in AMDs push to return to profitability. Opteron will continue to gain traction as companies such as IBM and Fujitsu Siemens roll out new systems armed with the chip. Microsoft Corp. also said in April that its Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP operating systems support Opteron.
The company expanded its Opteron offerings to include one-way, four-way and eight-way systems.
AMD officials said PC processor sales jumped 7 percent over the second quarter last year, to $402 million.
Looking at the current quarter, officials said they expect sales to increase based on seasonal processor buying patterns and increasing interest in flash memory.