Micron Technoloy has posted net losses of US$243 million for its fiscal fourth-quarter 2012, compared with net losses of US$135 million a year ago. The results marked the fifth straight quarterly loss for the US memory chipmaker.

On a sequential basis, Micron's losses for the fiscal fourth quarter showed improvement compared to losses of US$320 million reported for the prior quarter.

Revenues for the fiscal fourth quarter ended August 30, 2012 slipped 8.3% from a year earlier and 9.6% sequentially to US$1.96 billion.

Revenues from DRAM products in the fiscal fourth quarter were 9% lower compared to the third quarter, due to a 9% decrease in sales volume, Micron revealed. As for NAND flash, revenues declined by 12% sequentially in the June-August quarter, due to an 11% decrease in sales volume.

Micron also supplies NOR flash chips as a result of its Numonyx takeover. The product segment accounted for about 12% of company revenues in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012.

Micron disclosed that consolidated gross margin stayed flat at 11% in the fiscal fourth quarter. Improvement in margins from sales of NAND flash and NOR flash products were offset by a decline in margins from sales of DRAM products.

For the fiscal year, Micron reported net losses of US$1.03 billion, or US$1.04 per diluted share, on net sales of US$8.2 billion. The results for fiscal 2012 compare to net income of US$167 million, or US$0.17 per diluted share, on sales of US$8.8 billion for its fiscal 2011.

Revenues from sales of NAND flash products in the company's fiscal 2012 climbed 14% thanks to a 106% jump in unit sales volume from the ramp of the IM Flash Singapore wafer fab, but the increase was partially offset by a 45% decrease in ASPs. Meanwhile, revenues from sales of DRAM products were 12% lower in the year compared to fiscal 2011 due to a 45% fall in ASPs, partially offset by a 59% increase in unit sales volumes.

"In 2012, despite difficult market conditions and lower average selling prices, we continued to execute on our technology and manufacturing roadmaps and moved our products increasingly into premium segments. Our focus throughout 2013 is to drive additional cost reductions and advance our leading-edge memory technology to achieve increased manufacturing efficiencies," Micron CEO Mark Durcan said in a statement.