 |
Wednesday, August 27, 2003
Barrett hedges on IT upturn
'We'll look at it one quarter at a time,' CEO says
PENANG, Malaysia -- Intel Corp.'s Craig Barrett said yesterday it is too early to predict a recovery in the information technology sector, even though his company has just raised its forecast for third-quarter sales.
"We're seeing strong seasonal strength in all geographies across the board," the chief executive of the world's largest computer chipmaker said yesterday during a visit to an Intel manufacturing plant in Malaysia. "But we're not sure ... if that signifies some start to a recovery.
"We're going to be very conservative in our forecasting, so we're not forecasting a recovery in the IT sector yet," Barrett told reporters in northern Penang state.
As supplier of central processors to around 80 percent of the world's personal computers, the Santa Clara, Calif.-based semiconductor giant generally has a good idea about the state of the PC market.
In a sign that demand for personal computers was gaining strength, Intel on Friday raised its third-quarter sales forecast to between $7.3 billion and $7.8 billion, compared with its earlier forecast of $6.9 billion and $7.5 billion.
Analysts differed on whether the announcement represented merely a stronger-than-usual back-to-school season or if it signaled the start of a long-awaited upgrade cycle in which companies and consumers replace older machines with new ones.
Barrett said it would "take a couple of quarters of above-average growth first to forecast a resurgence in the IT sector."
"We're just saying we'll look at it one quarter at a time," Barrett told reporters.
"None of you (should) write that I said the IT sector is recovering, because I didn't say that."
Barrett was speaking after opening a new center in Penang to design and develop technology for Intel's products worldwide.
The center is part of the company's $40 million investment to expand its operations in Malaysia.
Barrett said Intel will invest $100 million annually in research and development in Malaysia -- the equivalent of 2.5 percent of the company's global investment in research and development annually.
The annual investment, which comes on top of spending for the new center, is likely to rise, he said.
"Malaysia's readily available infrastructure, high-volume manufacturing capabilities, skilled work force and strong government support for information technology innovation make it an ideal location for our new center," Barrett said.
My web site
My Yahoo!
Google
|
Stocks |
· Weigh in on new credit card proposals
· Machinist talks under way
· Executive is charged in bison killings
· Search is on for how Microsoft can beat Google
· Women urged to break the cash ceiling
· Of Mutual Interest: Droopy dollar may be ready to rebound
· Homeowners who need help need patience
· Microsoft appealing EU's $1.39 billion antitrust fine
· Texas to check whether Amazon owes sales tax
· Senators skeptical of EADS' claims
· Study says stay-at-home family CEO is worth $117,000
· Small Retail: Fremont florist creates bouquets for wild at heart
more· EnCana dividing into 2 companies: one oil, one gas
· Person close to talks: Cablevision close to getting Newsday
· High demand, price of rice good news to US farmers
· Wall Street looks to US consumers for direction
· Mesa Air looks for shareholders' OK to offer more shares
more· Next generation of business software could get more fun
· EBay's PayPal rule in Australia draws fire
· Data from Columbia disk drives survived the shuttle accident
· Dell procurement exec retires
· Facebook to let users carry profiles with them
more
Todd Bishop's Microsoft Blog· Next up: A Microsoft-Google antitrust fight?
· News Corp. says no MySpace-Microsoft talks
· Poll: Whom should Microsoft pursue next?
John Cook's Venture Blog· TechCrunch: A WiMax "disaster" in the waiting
· Talyst CEO stepping down
· Avvo co-founder Paul Bloom stepping down
James Wallace on Aerospace· UPDATE: Air Canada 787s - 30 months late
· Assembly begins on 5th Dreamliner
· More A380 delays?
101 Elliott Ave. W.
Seattle, WA 98119
(206) 448-8000
Home Delivery: (206) 464-2121 or (800) 542-0820
seattlepi.com serves about 1.7 million unique visitors
and 30 million page views each month.
Send comments to newmedia@seattlepi.com
Send investigative tips to iteam@seattlepi.com
©1996-2008 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Terms of Use/Privacy Policy
