|
 |
|
|
|
Samsung rises above in DRAM market
|
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Increased competition and consolidation could come to the DRAM market in 2011, thanks in part to Samsung Electronics Co Ltd's aggressive growth strategy.
ISuppli Corp has reported that Samsung proved its market strength and managed to show double-digit DRAM revenue gains in Q3, despite the market's overall decline in the quarter. In doing so, segment leader Samsung became the only top five DRAM supplier to achieve revenue growth. Total DRAM market revenue was $10.72 billion in Q3, down 0.6% from $10.78 billion in Q2.
"Samsung has been vocal about its desire to expand its DRAM market share to as high as 50%," said Mike Howard, senior analyst for iSuppli, in a statement. "The third-quarter results show Samsung has put its money where its mouth is. By investing heavily in expanding production and advancing its manufacturing technology, the company has been able to cut pricing and to eat into the market share of its competitors."
The South Korean electronics giant sold $4.4 billion worth of DRAM in Q3, up 14.3% from $3.8 billion in Q4, iSuppli reported. With the next four largest suppliers - Hynix, Elpida, Micron, and Nanya - all recording sequential declines in revenue, the company's share of the market in Q3 reached to 40.7%, up from 35.4% in the previous quarter. Samsung is expected to continue to gain share in 2011.
"The only limitations on Samsung's growth will be how much share its largest PC OEM customers will allow it to take, how long the company can continue to cut prices and how much it can increase its dominance before government regulators raise anti-competitive concerns," Howard said.
ISuppli said that the remaining players in the DRAM industry face a very challenging 2011. In addition to needing to advance their manufacturing technology as aggressively as Samsung, they must also keep wafer output at current levels at the very least, the market research company said. DRAM prices, meanwhile, are dropping and some manufacturers could find their production costs rising above their average selling prices, iSuppli warned.
"The year 2011 is shaping up to be a time when DRAM companies are going to have to move incredibly fast just to keep up with Samsung," Howard said. "Those companies that are unable to advance their manufacturing processes at least as quickly as Samsung will see their market shares continue to shrink. It looks like the DRAM industry could very well be heading for consolidation, with some competitors being acquired or getting forced from the market."
ISuppli noted that number four-ranked Micron Technology Inc posted the worst Q3 performance among the top five DRAM suppliers with revenue of $1.1 billion down 21.4% from $1.4 billion in Q2. Micron's market share fell to 10.5%, down from 13.3% in Q2.
"Micron's market share has shrunk dramatically over the past two quarters, primarily due to production challenges at its Inotera facility," Howard said. "However, Micron will not lose further market share in 2011 and might actually expand its position slightly. Micron's DRAM wafer production will grow in 2011 due to the significant uptick in utilization anticipated at Inotera. Furthermore, Micron's margins will benefit from its effort to transition to more advanced manufacturing processes-an effort that is as aggressive as Samsung's."
ISuppli also noted that after Samsung, the next best Q3 performance among the top five DRAM suppliers was shown by Hynix Semiconductor Inc, which saw its revenue dip by just 2.9% from Q2 to $2.25 billion.
"Hynix's decline in revenue was largely due to its very modest growth in bit production and its falling average selling prices," Howard said.
|
Q3-10 |
Q2-10 |
Q3-09 |
|
|
|
Q3-10 Rank
|
Company
|
Revenue
|
Market share
|
Revenue
|
Market share
|
Revenue
|
Market Share
|
|
|
1
|
Samsung
|
$4,364
|
40.7%
|
$3,819
|
35.4%
|
$2,155
|
35.4%
|
|
|
2
|
Hynix
|
$2,246
|
20.9%
|
$2,314
|
21.5%
|
$1,317
|
21.6%
|
|
|
3
|
Elpida
|
$1,731
|
16.1%
|
$1,913
|
17.7%
|
$1,025
|
16.8%
|
|
|
4
|
Micron
|
$1,125
|
10.5%
|
$1,432
|
13.3%
|
$771
|
12.7%
|
|
|
5
|
Nanya
|
$439
|
4.1%
|
$473
|
4.4%
|
$331
|
5.4%
|
|
|
6
|
Powerchip
|
$292
|
2.7%
|
$260
|
2.4%
|
$115
|
1.9%
|
|
|
7
|
ProMos
|
$187
|
1.7%
|
$178
|
1.7%
|
$74
|
1.2%
|
|
|
8
|
Winbond
|
$146
|
1.4%
|
$141
|
1.3%
|
$129
|
2.1%
|
|
|
|
Others
|
$191
|
1.8%
|
$251
|
2.3%
|
$172
|
2.8%
|
|
|
|
Total
|
$10,721
|
$10,781
|
|
$6,090
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Source: iSuppli, November 2010
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
By: DocMemory
Copyright © 2023 CST, Inc. All Rights Reserved
|
|
|
|
