Advanced Micro Devices' 1Q loss matches analysts' estimates

But shares of the Sunnyvale-based company rose just 4 cents to $6.23 in after-hours trading Thursday, as AMD executives remained tightlipped about how they plan to cut costs further and return to profitability.

Before the results were reported, AMD shares rose 12 cents to $6.19 in regular trading.

The company said it was hurt during the first three months of the year by intensifying competition with Intel Corp. that crimped its ability to unload older products and by economic turbulence that tamped down consumer spending.

AMD is the world's No. 2 maker of microprocessors, the brains of personal computers and servers. No. 1 Intel leads with about three-quarters of the market worldwide.

AMD said its net loss for the quarter that ended March 29 was $358 million, or 59 cents per share, the company's sixth quarterly loss in a row. That's narrower than AMD's $611 million or $1.11-per-share loss during the same period last year.

Stripping out 8 cents per share in charges connected to the acquisition of graphics chip maker ATI Technologies, AMD lost 51 cents per share in the latest period, matching the average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial.

At $1.51 billion, AMD's sales were 22 percent higher than last year and in line with analysts' lowered expectations. AMD warned earlier this month that sales across all business lines were lower than it earlier anticipated.

AMD has racked up more than $4 billion in losses in a skid that stretches back to the last three months of 2006, under pressure from new chips from Intel and the costs of the ATI acquisition.

Lengthy product delays have also hurt AMD's ability to win new customers.