Record revenue for Intel, shares soar

US computer chip giant Intel blew past the expectations of Wall Street analysts and dismissed gloomy forecasts for personal computer sales. Intel said its net profit revenue rose 29 percent in the first quarter over a year ago to $3.2 billion while revenue soared 25 percent to $12.8 billion. Earnings per share of 59 cents were well above the 46 cents expected by analysts. "The first-quarter revenue was an all-time record for Intel fueled by double digit annual revenue growth in every major product segment and across all geographies," Intel president and chief executive Paul Otellini said on Tuesday. "These outstanding results, combined with our guidance for the second quarter, position us to achieve greater than 20 percent annual revenue growth," Otellini said in a statement. Intel forecast revenue of between $12.3 billion and $13.3 billion in the current quarter, well above the $11.87 billion expected by analysts. Intel shares soared 4.98 percent to $20.85 in after-hours trading.The computer chip giant also said recent forecasts for personal computer sales were too pessimistic. Figures released last week by technology research companies IDC and Gartner showed that the personal computer market shrank in the first quarter for the first time in more than a year due to frugality and a tablet computer craze.IBM said it continued to expect the PC market to grow by more than 10 percent this year and the same next year.