Chip maker Intel has reported a 90% plunge in profits in its fourth-quarter results, revealing the full impact of the recession on demand during the last three months of 2008.

Intel provides 80% of the chips used in computer systems worldwide, making it a powerful barometer for the technology industry as a whole.

CEO Paul Otellini described the results as “a poor ending to an otherwise great year.”

“The pace of the decline was dramatic, with reduced demand and inventory reduction in the fourth quarter,” he said.

While the company has decided not to issue a revenues forecast for the next quarter, Otellini said the company expects the decline to continue.

Proving that a recession is no obstacle to the Moore’s law, Otellini said rather than cut research and development budgets, Intel would continue to invest in new technology, and would open its new 32nm (nanometer) production facility in the second half of 2009.

“The best way to beat a recession is with new products rather than sticking with the old,” he said.

Other companies to issue financial results over the next two weeks include IBM, Microsoft and Google.