Computer-memory chipmaker Elpida Memory has reported net profits of 21.1 billion yen (US$234 million) for fiscal third-quarter ended December 31, 2009, representing a return to profitability following losses over the previous eight quarters. Revenues for the quarter grew 57.5% sequentially to 151 billion yen.
PC shipments were mostly driven by first-time and replacement purchases in the US and Asia in the final three months of 2009, pushing up demand for memory, according to Elpida. The supply of DRAM chips was tight, causing spot and contract prices for mainstream 1Gb DRAM to rise considerably on quarter.
Elpida said higher DRAM prices boosted its ASP by 30% on quarter in fiscal third-quarter 2009, and by 60% compared with a year ago. It also saw DRAM bit shipments grow 30% sequentially, beating the company's guidance of 10-15% growth.
As a result of higher shipments and ASPs, sales of Elpida's DRAM line for servers and PCs rose considerably to account for about 80% of the company's net sales in the fiscal third quarter, compared to just under 70% in the July-September quarter.
Elpida said its DRAM line for mobile phones and digital consumer electronics, which accounted for about 20% of its fiscal third-quarter revenues, registered a slight shipment decrease on quarter due to seasonality.
Elpida posted operating income of 30.4 billion yen for the third quarter of fiscal 2009, compared to operating losses of 57.9 billion yen a year earlier. Net profits for the quarter also showed significant improvement from net losses of 72.3 billion yen for the same period of its fiscal 2008.
Elpida saw net losses for the first nine months of its fiscal 2009 narrow to 30.6 billion yen, compared to losses of 118 billion yen a year ago. Operating losses for the April-December period also shrank to 10.9 billion yen from losses of 98 billion yen in the same nine months of fiscal 2008.
Looking into the final quarter of the company's fiscal 2009, Elpida expects bit shipments to increase 0-5% on quarter. Bit growth for the year ended March 31, 2010 is estimated at over 50% on year. It did not provide earnings forecast.
In addition, Elpida said capex for its fiscal 2009 remain unchanged at 60 billion yen.