Intel raises sales forecast

IDG News Service - Fueling hopes that the hardware sector will bounce back from the recession in the second half of the year, Intel Corp. said today its expectations for third-quarter revenue are higher than its prior forecast due to stronger-than-expected demand for processors and chipsets.

Intel said it expects third-quarter revenue to be $9 billion, "plus or minus $200 million," compared to its previous guidance of $8.5 billion, plus or minus $400 million. Even at the low end of the estimate, Intel would beat expectations of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who are forecasting revenue of $8.55 billion.

The prior forecast was issued during Intel's last quarterly financial results statement on July 14.

Intel also said that it expects its gross margin for the current quarter to be in the "upper half" of the previously forecast range of 53%, plus or minus two percentage points. Gross margin is the difference between revenue and cost of sales, a key indicator of the financial stability of a company.

Intel is scheduled to report third-quarter results on Oct. 13. The company stressed that before then, the economic outlook could change, and detailed a variety of risks in its statement. "Ongoing uncertainty in global economic conditions poses a risk to the overall economy as consumers and businesses may defer purchases in response to tighter credit and negative financial news," Intel said.

However, the increase in Intel's revenue guidance for the quarter is in line with higher expectations for components and hardware on the part of analysts and other vendors.

Worldwide, the outlook for the chip market is better than it appeared a few months ago, according to Gartner Inc. In a report released earlier this week, the market research company forecast global chip revenue to reach $212 billion this year. Though that figure is 17.1% lower than last year, it would be higher than Gartner's previous forecast, which predicted a 22.4% decline.

Global demand for PCs, mobile phones and various consumer electronics is higher than what was expected earlier in the year, Gartner said.

Though both Hewlett-Packard Co. and Dell Inc. recently confirmed sales declines for the second quarter, compared to the same period last year, they also said they expected demand to rise in the second half of the year. Dell, reporting quarterly results Thursday, said quarterly earnings declined by 23% to $472 million. But CEO Michael Dell was optimistic.

"If current demand trends continue, we expect revenue for the second half of the year to be stronger than the first half," he said in a statement.