Samsung Electronics has reduced the gap with Intel, the world's No. 1 chip maker, in second-quarter chip sales, according to a U.S-based market research firm.

IC Insights said Friday the sales gap between the two semiconductor giants dropped to 16 percent in the April-June period. It said Intel's semiconductor sales were 36 percent greater than Korea's largest chip maker in 2014.

"Samsung's excellent growth rate in the second quarter put the company closer to catching Intel and becoming the world's leading semiconductor supplier," it said.

Data showed Samsung's chip sales reached $10.3 billion in the second quarter, up 10 percent from a quarter ago. But those of Intel increased only 3 percent, to $11.9 billion, compared with last quarter.

The data comes a week after Korea's leading electronics company said its second-quarter operating profit was 3.4 trillion won ($2.9 billion), the second-largest figure since the company started the semiconductor business. The company also said its quarterly chip sales reached a record high of 11.29 trillion won.

Samsung's whopping growth in chip sales is due to its success in the mobile market, according to analysts.

"Intel almost failed to meet the growing demand from the mobile industry, while Samsung succeeded in catching up with the mobile market trend," said IBK Securities analyst Lee Seung-woo.

He also attributed the company's growth to its successful memory chip business.

"While Intel was focusing on the PC market, the nation's largest tech giant has successfully shifted its focus to the DRAM and NAND Flash memory chip business," he said.

Last week, Samsung said in a regulatory filing it expects to expand memory chip production more than 10 percent in the next quarter. Announcing its second-quarter performance, the company said it will increase VNAND supply to meet surging demand for mobile memory chips.

By: DocMemory
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