Intel Corp gained momentum in the worldwide microprocessor business in the first quarter, while rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. continued its long-term increase in market share, according to iSuppli Corp.

In the first quarter, Intel accounted for 79.7 per cent of global microprocessor revenue, up 1.2 per centage points from 78.5 per cent in the fourth quarter. However, compared to the first quarter of 2007, Intel’s microprocessor revenue market share was down by 0.7 per centage points.

In contrast, AMD lost market share on a sequential basis in the first quarter, taking 13 per cent of global revenue, down 1.1 per centage points from 14.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2007. On the other hand, the company managed to increase its share by 2.2 points compared to the first quarter of 2007.

“Intel was the short-term winner in the first quarter microprocessor market,” observed Matthew Wilkins, principal analyst, compute platforms, for iSuppli. “But over the previous 12-month period, the trend is reversed, with AMD growing its share.”
About half of AMD’s long-term growth came at the expense of Intel. The remainder came out of the market-share of smaller suppliers.

“AMD’s PC microprocessor product portfolio has become much stronger during the last year, particularly on the desktop side,” Wilkins said. “Customers clearly are responding to AMD’s moves. At the beginning of the year we saw AMD add the quad-core Phenom microprocessors to its desktop portfolio, which it has since built on with tri-core and dual-core flavors, for the prosumer and business markets.”
 
First-quarter results were encouraging for the PC market. Global PC unit shipments rose to 69.9 million units in the first quarter, up 12.1 per cent from 62.4 million in the first quarter of 2007.

Notebook shipments in the first quarter were very strong, with growth of more than 30 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2007. In contrast, desktop PC shipments in the first quarter were essentially flat compared to a year earlier.
 
Reflecting the robust demand situation, both Intel and AMD noted that their average selling prices (ASPs) did not decrease in the first quarter compared to the fourth. This price stability is another indication that price pressure has decreased and the pricing war between the two microprocessor suppliers has abated.

Intel and AMD in the first quarter continued to gain share at the expense of smaller players in the market. Combined, AMD and Intel accounted for 92.7 per cent  of total microprocessor revenues in the first quarter of 2008, up 1.4 per centage points from the first quarter of 2007.

iSuppli’s latest global PC forecast calls for unit shipment growth of 10.5 per cent in 2008.
 
iSuppli Corp