Taiwan’s memory chipmakers reported losses of NT$8.0 billion in the first half of the year, but they are upbeat about the industry’s outlook amid stronger demand.
Nanya Technology, Winbond Electronics, ProMOS Technologies and Powerchip Semiconductor Corporation (PSC), which together contribute the fourth-largest supply of DRAM worldwide, posted losses that ranged from NT$1.5 billion and NT$2.9 billion from January to June. The companies blamed soft demand for PCs and declines in product prices for the losses.
Looking ahead, they are hoping a traditional hot season will spur demand, triggering expectations that a turnaround will come as soon as the third quarter. “There’ll be little downside for ASPs (average selling prices) for the rest of this year,” said Wilson Wen, vice president of Winbond. “They should either stay flat or rise gradually.” According to DRAMeXchange, 256Mbit DDR400 spot prices jumped 0.8% to US$4.97 today.
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