Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技), the nation’s second-biggest computer memory chipmaker, plans to raise chip prices by an additional 5 percent to 10 percent this month because demand has improved significantly ahead of the back-to-school shopping season.DEMAND
That will increase the price of computer memory chips for the fourth straight month after local chipmakers drastically trimmed output in an attempt to generate as much cash as possible because the severe downturn had burned off almost all of their money.
“I think demand is improving after entering the third quarter, which is a traditionally busy season for the electronics industry,” Pai Pei-lin (白培霖), a vice president of Nanya Technology, said yesterday by telephone. “And [increase in] supply is very limited.”
Pai said the company planned to hike prices by 5 percent to 10 percent this month after completing negotiations with customers.
Nanya sells more than 70 percent of its memory chips to PC makers, including Dell Inc and Hewlett-Packard Co, on a contract basis.
UPBEAT
Pai was upbeat about computer chip giant Intel Corp’s forecast for the third quarter.
Intel’s revenue forecast for the period from this month to September is about 9 percent higher than analysts’ consensus, researchers at HSBC PLC said.
“I believe the third quarter will be a better period for us, compared with the second quarter [in terms of bottom line],” Pai said.
UPHILL
However, it would still be an uphill job for Nanya Technology to break even in the current quarter, Pai said, citing steep price declines because of oversupply over the past year.
The spot price for benchmark DRAM chips increased by 4.73 percent to US$1.11 per unit as of 6pm yesterday, real-time price information from Taipei-based DRAMeXchange Technology Inc (集邦科技) showed.
Shares of Nanya Technology gained 0.91 percent to close at NT$5.53 yesterday.
Bigger rival Powerchip Semiconductor Corp (力晶半導體) advanced by 2.13 percent to close at NT$2.4.
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