Intel reports 4.1 percent rise in fourth-quarter revenue

(Reuters) – Intel Corp , which is rushing to fix recently disclosed security flaws in its chips, beat expectations for adjusted profit and revenue in the fourth quarter, driven by strong growth in its data center business.

The company’s shares rose 3.7 percent to $47.05 after the bell on Thursday.

The chipmaker, which recorded a $5.4 billion charge in the quarter due to the recent tax reforms, has been focusing on its data center business and newer areas such as artificial intelligence and driverless cars to reduce its reliance on its traditional PC market.

Revenue from the company’s higher-margin data center business rose about 20 percent to $5.58 billion, beating the average analyst estimate of $5.13 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Earlier this month, Intel’s chips, which are widely used in microprocessors of PCs, tablets and phones, were found to be exposed to security flaws called Spectre and Meltdown that could allow hackers to steal sensitive information from users’ systems.

The company gave no details on projected costs of resolving the security issues, but said the vulnerabilities could hurt future results, customer relationships and its reputation.

Due to the tax charge, the company posted a loss of $687 million, or 15 cents per share, in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 30.

Excluding items, the chipmaker earned $1.08 per share. Total revenue rose 4.1 percent to $17.05 billion.

Analysts on average were expecting a profit of 86 cents per share on a revenue of $16.34 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

(Reporting by Laharee Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)