THE RESEARCH and development (RD) arm of computer chip giant Intel almost doubled its operating profits to $3.2 million (€2.2 million) last year.

Accounts filed with the Companies Office show Intel Shannon Ltd increased the size of its business to the end of December last by 36 per cent, from $28 million to $38 million.

The filings show the company increased operating profits from $1.8 million to $3.2 million.

Last February, the firm announced the creation of 134 RD jobs, developing “the most advanced silicon technology on the planet”.

The accounts show that the company posted a pretax profit last year of $3.6 million. This compared to a pretax loss of $9.7 million in 2007.

The main factor behind the loss was the write-off of a $12 million capital contribution to a subsidiary undertaking.