San Francisco: Intel posted a 48-per cent rise in fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday and reported record earnings for 2010 as the world's largest chipmaker enjoyed a resurgence in the market for computers that had been hard hit by the global recession.
Intel said it was its best fourth quarter on record, with revenue rising 8 per cent from a year earlier to $11.5 billion, and earnings rising 48 per cent to $3.39 billion from $2.28 billion in 2009.
For the year, the Silicon Valley bellwether reported record revenue and earnings of $43.6 billion and $11.7 billion respectively.
In a statement, Intel chief executive Paul Otellini said that 2010 "was the best year in Intel's history" and predicted that 2011 would be even 'better'.
The company's earnings report came as studies from market research firms Gartner and IDC found that PC sales slowed in the US in the fourth quarter, as sales of smartphones and Apple's iPad tablet lured customers away from traditional PC's.
Those devices use ARM chips, which are incompatible with Intel's architecture, and the US chip giant is now developing a new line of chips that are more compatible with small mobile gadgets.