But the chip maker says business is positive looking forward

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) the second-largest chip maker in the world, has reported a $396m (£193m) loss for its third financial quarter of the year - the firm's fourth consecutive quarterly loss.

But the company has seen a rise in unit sales of AMD microprocessors, particularly for notebook computers. - up 68 per cent from the previous year.

AMD has been struggling to break even after hefty competition with larger rival Intel.

But the company is encouraged by its progress, said chief financial officer Bob Rivet.

"We delivered a strong revenue increase and reduced our operating loss by more than half," he said.

On Tuesday, Intel reported a 43 per cent jump in third-quarter profits on soaring sales that reached more than $10bn (£4.9) during the period.