PC microprocessor unit shipments in the first quarter of this year were 39 percent higher than in the same quarter last year, while total market revenue was up 40.4 percent, research firm IDC said Thursday.
A seasonal decline from the fourth quarter of last year to the first quarter of this year was also more moderate than usual, suggesting a market recovery, and that the PC industry anticipates improvement in PC demand this year, IDC said.
Microprocessor unit shipments declined by 5.6 percent between the fourth quarter of last year and the first quarter this year, and total market revenue fell by 2 percent. However, PC processor shipments typically decline around 7 to 8 percent between the fourth quarter and the first quarter, IDC said.
Reflecting the improvement in the PC microprocessor market, earlier this month Intel reported revenue of US$10.3 billion for the quarter ended March 27, up by 44 percent compared to the corresponding quarter last year. Net income rose by 288 percent to $2.4 billion.
Intel’s market share was up by 0.5 percent to 81.0 percent in the first quarter, while competitor Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) had a share of 18.8 percent after losing 0.6 percent share, IDC said. Via Technologies had a 0.2 percent market share.
Intel gained market share while AMD lost share in all PC form factors in the quarter, IDC said.
IDC’s forecast for worldwide PC processor unit growth in 2010 is 15.1 percent. There are however strong signs for additional growth, including low inventories, strong outlooks from PC semiconductor vendors and some PC OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) , and a generally positive outlook for consumer and corporate IT spending for the rest of the year, IDC said.