Demand for Pentium Chip Increases Intel’s Profit by 44%

Intel Corp.’s first-quarter profit jumped an unexpected 44% as demand grew for its Pentium microprocessor--despite the recent public relations debacle over a flaw in the chip.

The world’s biggest maker of computer chips said Monday that it earned $889 million for the three months ended April 1, up from $617 million for the period a year ago. Per-share income for the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company rose 46% to $2.04 from $1.40; Intel bought back 2 million shares of common stock during the quarter.

Revenue was $3.56 billion, up 34% from $2.66 billion a year ago.

“It obviously was a very strong quarter, substantially ahead of anyone’s expectations,” said Charles Boucher, an analyst with Hambrecht & Quist in San Francisco. Analysts surveyed by Zack’s Investment Research had expected a profit of $1.65 per share.