AMD Shows Q4 Loss

Chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices reported a fourth-quarter loss of $30 million, driven largely by setbacks in its flash memory business, executives of the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company said.

Overall, AMD lost 8 cents per share, compared with a profit of 12 cents per share for the same period a year earlier. The company posted revenue of $1.26 billion, on target with analyst expectations.

Robert Rivet, AMD's chief financial officer, noted several factors contributed to the company's weak fourth quarter.

"Memory group sales were weaker than expected due to an aggressive pricing environment, significantly lower sales in Japan, and a delay in qualifying a new product in the wireless segment," Rivet said in a prepared statement.

Despite the loss, the company's processor business remained a bright spot. AMD said its Computation Products Group showed a 9 percent increase in sales, and its chip sales during the period were a record, driven by higher server and mobile sales. Sales of AMD's 64-bit processor products reached 50 percent of its total chip sales during the fourth quarter, the company said.