Advanced Micro Devices, the world's second largest maker of processors, rolled to a loss in the fourth quarter as the $5.4 billion acquisition of ATI Technologies and sluggish sales of server chips took their toll on the company's bottom line.

For the financial quarter that ended Dec. 31, AMD, which is based in Sunnyvale, Calif., reported a net loss of $1.08 per share or $574 million. That was in sharp contrast to a net income of $96 million, or 21 cents per share, which the company posted last year at this time.

For the financial quarter, sales were $1.77 billion compared to $1.84 billion a year ago. Wall Street estimates had called for revenues of $1.73 billion.

The purchase of ATI, which was completed in October, led to a charge of $550 million or $1.04 per share. A $27 million charge for employee stock-based compensation also cut into profits. Excluding the acquisition, the company's operating income was $63 million, a loss of 77 percent from a year ago and down 56 percent compared to the third quarter.

Minus those charges, AMD still posted a loss of four cents a share. Wall Street estimates had called for a profit of 10 cents a share. For the coming first financial quarter, AMD executives are calling for revenue of anywhere between $1.6 and $1.7 billion, while Wall Street analysts said they were expecting revenue of $1.8 billion.

Read the full story on eWeek: AMD Announces Q4 Losses

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