Samsung Electronics Pyeongtaek Campus/Photo Credit=Samsung Electronics
Samsung(82,100 -0.36%)In the fourth quarter of last year (October-December), it continued to take the No. 1 position in the global DRAM semiconductor market with a market share of 42.1% based on sales.
According to a recent report by the market research firm Trend Force on the 5th, the total sales of global DRAM manufacturers in the fourth quarter of last year was about 1.85 trillion won ($176.52 billion), an increase of 1.1% from the previous quarter.
Trend Force declined in demand due to a power outage in Micron’s fab (factory) in the U.S. in the fourth quarter of last year and the adjustment of server DRAM inventory by major data center customers. He explained that sales increased slightly thanks to the aggressive shipment of parts.
During this period, Samsung Electronics was found to have increased sales of about 8,403 billion won ($7.4 billion), up 3.1% from the previous quarter. SK hynix(140,000 -1.41%)Ranked second with a share of 29.5%, with about 587 trillion won ($5.2 billion). The combined market share of both companies is 71.6%.
During this period, the third-ranked Micron’s sales decreased by 7.2% compared to the previous quarter, reaching KRW 4.57 trillion ($4,500 million). The market share also decreased by 2 percentage points to 23%.
Trend Force said, “The average selling price of DR RAM (ASP) for Korean suppliers fell QoQ, but the increase in bit shipments suggests that customer demand is recovering during this period.” “We have increased our shipments to a greater extent than expected,” he analyzed.
In the fourth quarter of last year, global DRAM makers’ sales increased slightly, but the’operating margin’, which shows profitability, was slow.
Samsung Electronics’ operating margin decreased from 41% in the third quarter of last year to 36% in the fourth quarter, and SK Hynix also decreased from 29% in the same period to 26%. Trend Force said, “As the DRAM ASP in the fourth quarter of last year fell 5-10% compared to the previous quarter, the operating margin of all suppliers fell.”
Meanwhile, Trend Force predicted that as of the end of this year on an annual basis, server DRAM prices could rise by up to 40% or more from last year through the previous report. It is analyzed that from the second quarter of this year, server DRAM prices will rise by up to 15%, and DRAM prices will rise to a full-fledged cycle.
Seongsu Bae, reporter of Hankyung.com [email protected]
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