US chip giant Intel is Ireland's largest industrial employer and Ireland's biggest foreign direct investment project. Since 1989, Intel has invested over $7 billion transforming the 360 acre former stud farm campus in Leixlip, Co. Kildare into a state of the art manufacturing centre of excellence. Intel’s Leixlip campus is County Kildare is Intel’s fourth largest manufacturing site and the largest fabrication facility outside the United States. The campus employs over 5,000 people, directly and indirectly. There are currently four semi-conductor factories or FABs on site; Fab 10 and Fab 14 have merged to form Ireland Fab Operations (IFO), Fab 24, and the recently opened Fab 24-2 which is one of the most technically advanced, high-volume semiconductor manufacturing sites in the world. It produces the latest Intel products; the Intel Core 2 Duo and Intel Core 2 Extreme processors for consumer, business, desktop and laptop PCs.

Intel, the global chip giant, on Tuesday reported bumper results as it gained from strong demand for laptop computers. Net income jumped 43% and revenue rose 15% in the third quarter.

Intel's stock has gained 26% this year, following 2006 hen the company experienced strong competition from its main rival Advanced Micro Devices. In recent weeks, some analysts have raised concerns that PC makers may have placed too many orders in the third quarter, damping prospects for the fourth quarter.

"A combination of great products, strong and growing worldwide demand, and operational efficiency from our ongoing restructuring efforts led to record third-quarter revenue and a 64-percent year-over-year gain in operating income," said Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini. "Looking forward, we see each of these elements continuing to improve into the fourth quarter. We are very pleased with the results and optimistic about our business."

Revenue of $10.1 billion was up 16 percent sequentially, primarily driven by growth in Mobility and Digital Enterprise Group processors of 14 percent, with related chipsets and other products up 19 percent.

Gross margin was 52.4 percent, up from 46.9 percent in the second quarter. The increase was primarily driven by higher microprocessor volumes, lower 45nm start-up costs and lower microprocessor unit costs, partially offset by write-offs for manufacturing costs related to upcoming 45nm processors that had not yet qualified for valuation during the quarter.

Spending was $2.9 billion, higher than $2.6 billion in the second quarter, primarily driven by higher revenue- and profit-dependent expenses along with higher R&D spending as process engineers moved from 45nm start-up activities to 32nm development.

• Intel shipped more than 2 million quad core processors during the quarter and now offers more than 20 quad-core processor designs.

• Intel introduced the industry's first quad-core processors specifically designed for multiprocessor (MP) servers, delivering twice the performance and three times the performance per- watt of the company's previous-generation products. The introduction completes the company’s transition to the energy-efficient Intel Core microprocessor architecture.

• The company launched the next generation of Intel vPro processor technology for business desktop PCs featuring innovations that better protect against hacking and viruses while giving IT managers new ways to remotely manage and repair systems.

• At the Intel Developer Forum (IDF), the company announced that the world’s first 45nm microprocessors, based on Intel’s breakthrough 45nm Hi-k metal gate chip technology, will be introduced Nov. 12. The company demonstrated its second-generation 45nm microprocessor architecture, code-named Nehalem, which is on track for production in the second half of next year. Intel also announced the production of test chips based on the company’s next-generation, 32nm process technology, scheduled for 2009.

• Also at IDF, Intel announced that its 2008 notebook PC platform, code-named Montevina, will include 25-watt dual-core processors that enable even thinner and lighter designs. Several leading PC makers announced plans to ship Intel Montevina-based notebooks with WiMAX technology next year. Nokia announced plans to include Intel WiMAX silicon in its Internet tablet products, scheduled for 2008.

• Intel acquired Havok, a leading developer of the software used by digital artists to animate movies and computer games. The acquisition will help Intel to accelerate its capabilities in visual computing and graphics.