NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Advanced Micro Devices Inc. on Wednesday reported a first quarter loss that was narrower than most analysts had expected, as the chipmaker's sales declined 24 percent.

The company, which is the No. 2 supplier of PC microprocessors behind Intel, also lowered the bar for revenue in the second quarter.

After the close of trading, AMD said its loss in the first quarter amounted to $9.2 million, or 3 cents per share, on sales of $902 million. Analysts generally had expected AMD to lose 6 cents per share on revenue of about $901 million, according to research firm First Call.

During last year's first quarter, AMD reported earnings of $124 million, or 37 cents per share, on revenue of $1.2 billion.

Executives of AMD said they sold 8 million PC processors during the first quarter, a company record, while sales of flash memory chips continued to be weak.

"While sales of flash memory products once again declined substantially, there are signs that the industry flash crash is now behind us," W.J. Sanders, chairman and chief executive of AMD, said in a statement.

Total PC processor revenue of $684 million for the quarter rose 3 percent from $661 million during the same period in 2001. The company's sales of flash memory products totaled $160 million in the first quarter, down from $411 million last year.

Looking ahead, AMD said it expects revenue in the second quarter to range between $820 million and $900 million. That compares with Wall Street's recent expectations for sales nearer $909 million, according to the First Call survey.

AMD said it expects substantial sequential growth of its flash memory devices in the second quarter.

The company also said its sees a 5-to-10 percent seasonal decline in sales of its PC chips in the second quarter and total sales between $820 million and $900 million.

Shares of AMD (AMD: Research, Estimates) gained 47 cents Wednesday to close at $14.82.