Market researcher iSuppli said computer memory chipmakers are unlikely to see an immediate recovery in demand and profitability, despite price rebounds from record lows.
The memory chipmakers include those manufacturing dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips and NAND flash chips.
The researcher said combined revenue of DRAM and NAND flash chipmakers in the current quarter is expected to increase 3.6 percent from the first quarter, followed by sequential rises of 21.9 percent and 17.5 percent in the third and fourth quarters respectively.
The chipmakers’ rising revenue came in the face of rebounding prices, with mainstream DRAM chips serving as an example. The average spot price of DDR2 1GB 128Mx8 chips running at 667 megahertz was US$1.21 each on Friday, up 60 percent from this year’s low of US$0.75 set on March 11, Taipei-based DRAMeXchange Technology Inc (集邦科技) said.
“While this growth may spur some optimism among memory suppliers, the oversupply situation will continue to be acute,” iSuppli analyst Kim Nam-hyung said in a report released on Thursday.
“Even if all of the Taiwanese DRAM suppliers idled all their fabs, which equates to 25 percent of global DRAM megabit production, the market would remain in a state of oversupply,” he said.
The researcher maintained a negative rating on DRAM players in the near-term.
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