Samsung Electronics Co, the world's largest maker of computer memory, and Micron Technology Inc lost market share to smaller rivals such as Hynix Semiconductor Inc during the first quarter, researcher Isuppli Corp said.
Samsung's sales of the most common type of memory, known as dynamic random access memory, or DRAM, fell 2.6 percent from the previous quarter, cutting 2 percentage points off its market share to 27.1 percent, Isuppli analyst Kim Nam Hyung said. Boise, Idaho-based Micron, Samsung's nearest rival, lost share to Hynix Semiconductor Inc and Infineon Technologies AG, he said.
Hynix outmaneuvered rivals including Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung by winning the biggest market share in China, the fastest-growing DRAM market, Kim said. Hynix reported record quarterly profit last month as personal computer demand is poised to grow at its fastest pace since 2000.
Hynix's "profit is getting better and has relatively higher earnings momentum than other DRAM makers," said Sohn Dong Shik, who manages the equivalent of about US$420 million at Mirae Asset Investment Management Co.
Icheon, Korea-based Hynix's stock is the second-best performer among the world's nine-largest DRAM makers this year, surging 75 percent in that period. Hynix's recovery is a contrast to 2002, when it needed a bailout from creditors, according to El Segundo, California-based Isuppli.
"Just two years ago, Hynix Semiconductor Inc appeared to be headed for the corporate graveyard," Kim said in a column published in Silicon Strategies. "However, Hynix's strong performance in the first quarter indicates the South Korean chipmaker is back on track."
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