Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技) said second-quarter profit will lag its forecast as demand and prices for memory chips may fall after the collapse of talks to sell Hynix Semiconductor Inc's assets to Micron Technology Inc.
The nation's biggest computer memory-chip maker cut its target from the NT$2 billion (US$58 million) it forecast last month, without giving revised numbers. Nanya, which supplies to Dell Computer Corp, the world's biggest personal-computer maker, said demand from companies for computers has yet to rebound.
Last year Nanya signed on new OEM customers to long-term contracts. Computer makers such as Dell, Toshiba Corp, NEC Corp and Compaq Computer Corp all inked new agreements with the company.
The failure of Boise, Idaho-based Micron, the second-largest memory-chip maker, to buy the assets of next-largest rival Hynix will also depress prices as the debt-laden Korean chipmaker needs to boost production and raise cash to stay in business, Nanya said.
"Prices should improve by the third quarter, but it depends on demand in the US," Charles Kau (
Bankers approved Micron's US$3 billion offer for Hynix's main businesses, aiming to recoup part of the US$5 billion they loaned last year to keep Hynix in business. The Hynix board rejected the offer, saying the company can remain afloat on its own.
"Maybe Hynix and Micron will see some dramatic changes" such as the revival of merger talks, Kau said.
Many of the largest memory-chip makers, including Samsung Electronics Co and Hynix, reported profits in the first quarter after prices rebounded from a record slump last year.
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