AMD eyeing bumper sales in 2010

 

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By Reuters

Posted on 12 Nov 2009 at 11:28

AMD expects its chip-design business to begin raking in the cash next year, as it looks to take the fight to Intel.

By spinning off its manufacturing operations, AMD claims it's now free to concentrate on designing microprocessors and graphics cards, which helped the company eke out a profit of $2 million in the third quarter.

"We're going to turn into a cash-flow generating machine," claims chief executive Dirk Meyer after discussing some of the company's upcoming chip designs. "I can already hear the cash registers starting to ring, which is wonderful."

Along with new microprocessor and graphics chip designs, executives claim AMD will focus on consumer-oriented market segments, including mid-range desktops and notebooks.

I can already hear the cash registers starting to ring, which is wonderful

Out of the 300 million PCs the company expects to be sold next year, some 180 million will go to consumers. Given those expectations, AMD says it will concentrate on technology that produces better graphics, something consumers often demand.

"Our market is being driven by consumers, and that's what's driving the technology," adds Meyer. "Increasingly, people aren't going to be satisfied showing up to work and having a lousier experience on their computer than they do at home."

AMD expects sales of processors to rise between 10% and 15% in 2010.

Meyer also claimed he felt AMD had been vindicated by recent rulings against Intel in the European Union, Korean and other courts. AMD has long claimed its success in the market was hampered by anti-competitive behavior by Intel.

"I'm looking forward to a future in which our ability to succeed as a business is governed by the quality of our products and the quality of our customer relationships," he says. "I can tell you that hasn't always been true."