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AMD quarterly profit falls short of expectations

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE:AMD - News) on Wednesday posted a quarterly net profit that fell short of expectations as the No. 2 maker of computer processors recorded costs associated with the spin-off of a memory chip joint venture.

AMD said net profit for the fourth quarter ended December 31 was $95.6 million, or 21 cents per share, compared with a loss of $30 million, or 13 cents a year earlier. Revenue was $1.84 billion, up 45 percent from the $1.26 billion a year earlier.

Analysts had expected the company to earn 27 cents a share on revenue of $1.65 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.

AMD has been steadily making headway against giant rival Intel Corp (NasdaqNM:INTC - News), which on Tuesday reported quarterly profit and revenue that disappointed investors and drove its stock down more than 10 percent. AMD's shares, meanwhile, rose more than 3 percent, and have more than doubled in the past year.

But AMD is richly valued, with the stock trading at more than 35 times expected 2006 profit, compared with less than 16 for Intel.

http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/060118/amd_earns.html?.v=1