"Steady progress" in servers props up AMD

 

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By Nicole Kobie

Posted on 20 Apr 2012 at 09:08

AMD's revenue slid 2% from last year, but the results were better than analysts expected, as the chip maker heralded its success in the server market.

AMD posted quarterly revenue of $1.59bn, down 2% on the same quarter in 2011. The company made a net profit of $92 million - or would have if it wasn't for a $703m payout to Global Foundries to end an exclusivity deal.

AMD is restructuring following the appointment of a new CEO, Rory Read, and job cuts. Read claimed the low-power SoC Brazos platform saw double-digit growth in emerging markets, while processors based on AMD's latest architecture, Bulldozer, were picking up server sales.

"Our server business continues to make steady progress," he said. "We achieved our third consecutive quarter of server processor unit shipment growth, driven by increased adoption of our Bulldozer-based offerings."

"We are fully committed to build this business step-by-step over the long term," Read added.

Sales of AMD's APUs - accelerated processing units, with the CPU and GPU on the same die - "continues to accelerate", Read said.

"APUs account for nearly 100% of our mobile unit shipments in the quarter, helping drive an approximate 30% increase in mobile processor unit shipments and significant mobile revenue growth from a year ago," Read claimed.

"A complete top-to-bottom introduction of new APU offerings, combined with ample product supply resulting from continued progress with our manufacturing partners, positions us to win and grow," he said.