Intel's latest financial report has revealed a significant though not quite dramatic drop in company revenues to $13.5 billion (UK£8.4 billion, AU$13.1).
The figures, culled from Q3 financial data, were down 5.1 per cent from the $14.23 billion (UK£8.82 billion, AU$13.86) the company pulled in during the same 3-month period one year ago.
The chip-maker rang up profits of $3 billion (UK£1.86, AU$2.9) during the last three months, with earnings of $0.58 (UK£0.36, AU$0.57) per share, beating the estimates of Wall Street's finest.
Breakthrough innovation
Intel CEO Paul Otellini said in a statement that he was pleased with how the company is holding up during a time when PC sales are slowing, and spoke positively about Intel's Ultrabook and mobile ventures.
"Our third-quarter results reflected a continuing tough economic environment," he said.
"The world of computing is in the midst of a period of breakthrough innovation and creativity.
"As we look to the fourth quarter, we're pleased with the continued progress in Ultrabooks and phones and excited about the range of Intel-based tablets coming to market."
In the pipeline
Intel's Atom-based smartphones finally hit the market in 2012 with further developments expected in 2013, while the company recently revealed it will power around 20 Windows 8 tablets along with 140 Core-based Ultrabooks moving forward.
Although Intel is attempting to adapt to an increasingly mobile world, Otellini reportedly gave little mention of the company's projects in that vein, saying only that Intel is "continuing to make progress in handhelds."
The CEO also apparently mused over whether a decline in PC use is due to the rise in tablets or whether consumers are simply waiting for Windows 8.
While "very excited" for the new OS, Otellini cautioned that it could take a year before the market knows whether PC use will ever return to prior levels.
Despite beating the estimates and posting better than expected results, Intel shares dropped 2.4 per cent in after-hours trading Tuesday.
