Intel said on Tuesday it believed the bottom of the personal computer industry downturn had passed, though it offered few optimistic signs that it expected an early recovery in chip demand following the recent steep declines.

Shares in the world’s biggest chipmaker slipped nearly 6 per cent in after-market trading after it reported depressed revenues for the first quarter of the year and said the economic uncertainty made it impossible to offer financial forecasts for the rest of 2009.