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Technology Stocks : Applied Materials No-Politics Thread (AMAT) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Proud_Infidel who wrote (4803)	1/7/2003 8:49:34 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 25522

DRAM market set for second growth year, says iSuppli By Peter Clarke Semiconductor Business News (01/07/03 06:42 a.m. EST) EL SEGUNDO, Calif. --- The DRAM market is poised for a second consecutive year of double-digit percentage growth in 2003, according to Nam Hyung Kim, an analyst with market research firm iSuppli Corp., writing in the company's latest newsletter. The iSuppli analyst expects the market to reach $18.5 billion in 2003, which would reflect growth by 20% compared with 2002. The increase in market size is likely to be driven by a recovery in the personal computer market but will only come after a relatively weak first half of the year, the analyst said. It was double-digit growth in the DRAM market of 38% to a level of $15.4 billion per year that led the worldwide semiconductor market in growth and helped it to chalk up a wafer-thin level of growth in 2002. And that DRAM growth, coming of the back of a disastrous 2001, was achieved despite weak PC shipments in 2002. The DRAM industry's vigorous rise in 2002 contrasted sharply with its 60% revenue decline in 2001. “Overall, DRAM Average Selling Prices (ASPs) in 2002 remained stable, despite some oscillations due to suppliers' struggles with product mix and yields,” Nam Hyung Kim observed. In 2003 iSuppli expects PC shipments to recover some of their lost ground by 13%, which should give a boost to DRAM sales. Following normal seasonal patterns, DRAM revenue will decline by 5% sequentially in the first quarter, and 11% in the second. Sequential DRAM revenue growth should resume in the second half, with sales rising 28% in the third quarter and 30% in the fourth quarter of 2003. With no major move away from the presently dominant 256-Mbit DRAM and the Double Data Rate (DDR) 266 technology foreseen, the DRAM market will have to contend with declining price-per-bit and average selling prices; iSuppli predicts that DRAM ASPs in 2003 will decrease by 16%. Other factors will contribute to falling prices in 2003. DRAM makers plan to increase their capital spending, keeping supplies plentiful. Major industry consolidation, which could restrain supply and boost DRAM ASPs, is unlikely to happen. Even troubled Hynix Semiconductor Inc. is likely to stay in business, iSuppli predicts.