Chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices Inc. said today it would take a charge of several hundred million dollars in the fourth quarter as part of its plan to halt a string of quarterly losses.
AMD, the chief rival to Intel Corp. in the market for microprocessors, also stood by its target for revenue growth of about 20 percent in the fourth quarter from the third quarter, citing a significant improvement in sales of flash memory.
Details on the charge were not disclosed. But in October a company spokesman told Reuters that cost cuts would require layoffs.
At a meeting with financial analysts, AMD Chief Financial Officer Robert Rivet said the company plans 2003 capital spending of about $650 million, down from a reduced 2002 budget of between $750 million and $800 million.
Rivet also said the company expects earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization to be about "neutral" for the fourth quarter and positive for the first quarter. EBITDA is expected to grow throughout next year, he said.
In addition, Rivet said he expects the company to reduce its expenses by more than $350 million in 2003.
A weak personal computer market and a build-up of its Athlon and Duron microchips among PC makers and distributors hurt AMD in the third quarter.
Intel dominates the sale of microprocessors - the brains of computers - with a market share of about 80 percent.