AMD shares sink on Q4 loss

By Colleen Taylor -- Electronic News, 1/24/2007

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. showed its growing pains in Q4, posting a definite slump in financial results released Tuesday.

In line with last week's warnings, AMD reported an operating loss of $527 million in Q4, worlds away from the operating incomes it posted in both Q3 and Q4 2005 of $119 million and $268 million, respectively. The drastic dive was largely due to losses associated with the $5.4 billion acquisition of ATI Technologies AMD closed on in October.

Revenues seemed to be a brighter spot for the company, until further inspection. AMD's revenues including ATI were up 34 percent sequentially and 31 percent year-over-year to $1.77 billion. However, excluding ATI operations, AMD's revenues actually only inched up 3 percent sequentially and 2 percent year-over-year -- a disappointment, considering all the support the company has garnered in recent months as a stronger rival to top-ranked chipmaker Intel 

And happier days don't seem to be on the way, at least not in the near future. Looking ahead, AMD said it expects a "seasonally down first quarter," with revenue in the range of $1.6 billion to $1.7 billion.

The Q4 slump has hit the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company on Wall Street. AMD's share price was down to $16.52 in after-hours trading Tuesday evening -- worlds away from its 52-week high of $42.70. AMD’s stock opened at $16.24 this morning, down more than 7 percent from its Tuesday close of $17.51 and falling below the MPU company's 52-week low of $16.90.