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Just over a month after reporting relatively strong second-quarter financial numbers, Intel Aug. 28 announced that it is raising its expectations for the third quarter.
Intel officials said that given the unexpected demand for processors and chipsets, they were predicting revenues for the current quarter to come in between $8.8 billion and $9.2 billion. They previously said they expected revenues of between $8.1 billion and $8.9 billion.
They also said they expect the gross margin percentage for the third quarter to be in the upper half of the previous range of 53 percent, plus or minus two points.
Intel is scheduled to release third-quarter financial results Oct. 13.
The giant chip maker July 14 posted strong Q2 numbers, including $8 billion in revenue and a $1 billion profit. However, when the European Commission’s $1.45 billion fine for antitrust violations was factored in, Intel’s profit swung to a $398 million loss.
Still, Intel officials and industry analysts were happy with the results, saying that it was further indication that the global recession that had strangled the tech industry for the last part of 2008 and the first quarter of this year was loosening its grip.
Paul Otellini, chairman and CEO of Intel, said during that call that he was optimistic about the rest of the year and 2010, pointing to the pent up demand to refresh technology by businesses that may have delayed buying new systems as IT budgets were slashed.
Otellini also said Intel will continue with its aggressive push to expand into areas beyond PCs and servers, including into the embedded market, mobile devices and software.