AMD posts sixth straight quarterly net loss

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) posted its sixth consecutive quarterly net loss on Thursday as the chip maker continued to lose market share to far larger rival Intel Corp (INTC.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

But shares of the company ticked higher in extended trading as its general comments on the second quarter were in line with normal seasonal trends.

"The stock is up due to a bit of relief that things weren't worse," said CRT Capital Group analyst Ashok Kumar.

AMD, which lost market share to Intel last year as its chip-making technology lagged that of its larger rival, said its first-quarter net loss actually narrowed to $358 million, or 59 cents a share, from $611.0 million, or $1.11 a share, a year ago.

Revenue advanced 22 percent to $1.51 billion from $1.23 billion.

AMD's adjusted loss per share was 51 cents, compared with analysts' average expectation of a loss of 47 cents, according to Reuters Estimates. Revenue was pegged at $1.50 billion.

The poor results came even as Intel and other high-tech companies like International Business Machines Corp have so far posted generally positive earnings.

"In the seasonally down second quarter, AMD expects revenue to decrease in line with seasonality," the company said in its financial results report.

Gross margin in the first quarter was 42 percent, down from 44 percent in the fourth quarter, but up from 28 percent in the year-ago period.