AMD expects overall profit, but sees significant decline in operating income Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) expects to report an overall profit for the fourth quarter ending Dec. 26 but will see an operating loss in its memory division, the company said Monday.AMD’s memory group makes NOR-type flash memory, which is used in mobile phones to store data and retains that data even when power is turned off.The chip-maker revised its financial forecast for the fourth quarter and predicts operating income will decline significantly from the third-quarter figure of $68.4 million, the company said. Fourth quarter sales will be up slightly compared to $1.24 billion reported for the previous quarter, it said. The company did not quote its estimates for net income. AMD’s prior guidance for the fourth quarter had projected overall sales to rise because of rising processor sales. Sales from its computation products group, which makes its 64-bit Opteron and Athlon 64 processors, are still expected to increase, the company said. The fourth quarter is usually the strongest quarter of the year for PC and chip companies.Fourth quarter sales last year were $1.2 billion and net income was $43 million for the three months to Dec. 28, 2003. The company reported flash memory sales of $566 million and the company’s memory business had a $3 million operating loss, according to company figures.AMD will announce its fourth quarter results for 2004 on Jan 18. Technology Industry