California-based chip maker Intel Corporation announced that it would increase dividends by 14 percent, as the company expects 2010 results to be the best yet the company had.
Starting with the first quarter of 2011, the company will pay its investors 18 cents per share, compared to current level of 15.75 cents per share.
With this last raise, the corporation has increased its dividends by 60 percent in three years.
The dividend increase beats that of last year, of 13 percent.
Despite lowering their quarterly sales expectations in August, based on low PC demand on mature markets, the company offered last month a more optimistic forecasts that were in tune with market expectations.
According to CEO Paul S. Otellini, Intel remains on track and generates strong flows. Company shares posted a 1.5 percent increase, or 32 cents, to 21.53 dollars. The company had an annual share growth of 5.5 percent.
In order to diversify its business opportunities, the company aims to expand into the tablet PC and mobile phones markets, and they plan to display their first smartphones in 2011.
Intel Corporation said last month they expected sales to increase 11.8 billion dollars, while analysts estimate 11.3 billion. The company’s net income posted a 59 percent quarterly growth, to 2.96 billion, making last quarter the fourth consecutive increase.
