Global memory chip sales rose 14 pct in Q2
August 01, 2006 14:35:06 (ET)
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Sales of computer memory chips in the second quarter jumped a higher-than-expected 14.3 percent as prices rose amid strong demand and a shift to a faster technology, market research firm iSuppli Corp. said on Tuesday.
The sales momentum is also expected to continue throughout 2006 as computer makers gear up for the new school year and the year-end holiday season, both of which are important drivers of PC sales.
Sales of dynamic random access memory, or DRAM, chips hit $7.5 billion in the second quarter, compared to $6.6 billion in the first quarter, iSuppli said in a report.
The quarterly rise was stronger than the 4.4 percent growth expected by iSuppli.
"Along with rising prices, tighter supplies and lower production, the DRAM market's strong performance in the second quarter was fueled by better-than-expected demand," iSuppli memory analyst Nam Hyung Kim said in the report.
"DRAM makers that are savoring their second-quarter success will have more reason for celebration during the third quarter," Kim said. "With the back-to-school and Christmas seasons soon to arrive, more good things are ahead for DRAM suppliers."
South Korea's Samsung Electronics ((005930.KS)), the world's top DRAM supplier, saw sales rise 18.5 percent in the quarter to $2.1 billion, the report said.
No. 2 Qimonda ((QI.N)), the memory chip unit of Europe's Infineon ((IFXGnDE)), saw sales rise 10.4 percent to $1.2 billion. Hynix Semiconductor ((000660.KS)), also of South Korea, had growth of 22.1 percent, while Micron Technology (MU,Trade) of the United States saw sales fall 3.6 percent.
Instead of falling 4 percent as forecast, global DRAM prices rose 4 percent in the quarter, iSuppli said.
That was because suppliers produced less memory of a type called double data-rate, or DDR, in favor of making more of the faster, next-generation DDR2 chips.
"This constrained supplies of DDR, contributing to an increase in prices. In contrast, prices for DDR2 declined during the quarter as availability increased," the report said.
Bit production -- which measures output in terms of total capacity rather than numbers of chips -- rose 10 percent in the quarter, representing a slowdown from the 15 percent growth seen a year earlier, the report said.
Memory makers have pinned their hopes on strong growth continuing into 2007, when Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT,Trade) new Windows Vista operating system is set to go on sale. The software requires significantly more memory and processing power to run than previous versions. |
