Global DRAM revenues grew 42% sequentially to US$8.682 billion in the fourth quarter of 2009, buoyed by a rebound in chip ASPs and output growth. Samsung Electronics and Hynix Semiconductor saw their combined share drop from the third quarter, whereas both Elpida Memory and Micron Technology gained ground.
With DRAM demand growing beyond expectations, producers found supply begin to tighten in the fourth quarter. Average contract prices for DDR2 chips, which had rallied since the beginning of the quarter, moved to stabilize in December.
DDR2 remained the mainstream PC-memory standard in fourth-quarter 2009, with demand stronger than DDR3. DDR2 average contract prices rose 61% sequentially in the quarter, while spot prices also climbed 68%.
As to output capacity, fourth-quarter DRAM supply bit growth rate was up 20% on quarter given the continuous technology migration and pulling-up utilization rate from Taiwan-based chip suppliers.
the top-nine ranked companies remained the same since Qimonda's exit, with Samsung leading the global DRAM industry. Samsung's share slid 3.9pp sequentially to 31.7% in the fourth quarter of 2009, while Hynix' stayed flat at 21.6%.
Both Elpida and Micron outperformed the industry average in the fourth quarter, while Taiwan's combined share increased 1.0pp on quarter to 14.2%. Among Taiwan's DRAM players, Powerchip Semiconductor Corporation (PSC) enjoyed a sequential revenue jump of 111.6% in the quarter, followed by Nanya Technology with a 48.7% growth.