Intel raises second quarter revenue forecast as business PC demand picks up

Himanshu Arora

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Intel announced yesterday that its Q2 results will be better than expected due to stronger than anticipated demand for corporate personal computers. In other words, the end of Microsoft's support for its Windows XP operating system has boosted the demand for business PCs.

Intel now expects its second-quarter revenue to be around $13.7 billion (plus or minus $300 million), up from its earlier guidance of $13 billion (plus or minus $500 million).

The world's largest semiconductor company also expects the midpoint of its gross margin, or the percentage of sales left after deducting production costs, to increase 1 point to 64 percent, plus or minus a couple of percentage points. The company cited higher PC unit volume for the increase in profitability.

On the other hand, Wall Street is expecting Intel to report second-quarter sales of $13.02 billion with gross margins of 62.6 percent.

Intel also revised its full-year forecast, saying it now expects "some revenue growth", a projection that is better than the previous outlook for flat sales. The company will provide additional commentary on all business segments when it reports second-quarter earnings on July 15.

The higher forecast came as a sigh of relief for the PC industry, which has witnessed a decline in global shipments for the past two years. Just a few days after market research firm IDC said that PC sales might improve this year.

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