European chip sales grew slower than in rest of world
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(InfoWorld) - Semiconductor sales in Europe last year grew more slowly than the worldwide average, dragged down by slow growth in microprocessors in the region, according to a report from the European Semiconductor Industry Association. Worldwide sales of semiconductors grew 8.9 percent in 2006 over the previous year, reaching $247 billion in sales. But in Europe, sales were up just 1.6 percent in 2006, the group said. The increase was driven by DSPs (digital signal processors), dynamic RAM, flash memory, discrete devices such as power transistors, and application-specific chips for consumer, automotive and industrial applications. While sales were low in December, they helped boost the yearly figure because they were better than the previous year. In the final month, European semiconductor sales were $3.5 billion, down 5.1 percent over November. However, December sales were up 5.4 percent compared to the same month in 2005. December produced low sales around the world but were still better than 2005. For the month, worldwide semiconductor sales were $21.7 billion, down 3.6 percent compared to November but up 9 percent over December 2005. The report comes amid mixed results from chip makers around the globe for the final quarter of 2006. GermanyâsÂ Infineon Technologies reportedÂ a 27 percent increase in sales for its quarter that ended Dec. 31 compared to the previous year, despite a significant drop in sales from its group that supplies chips for mobile phones. ButÂ Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. postedÂ a 5.4 percent drop in sales for the same period compared to the corresponding quarter in 2005.
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Faced with mountains of inventory, quick thinking by some semiconductor manufacturers helped the market avoid its first decrease in chip sales since the war in Iraq began.
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European equity markets were lower in early trade on Tuesday as concerns over high oil prices and fresh worries over the outlook for the chip sector damped sentiment.
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Samsung Electronics Co., the world&#39;s second-largest semiconductor maker, said it expects global chip sales next year to grow at half of this year&#39;s pace on increased supply from new plants coming online.
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US chip-related stocks, including Intel Corp., declined after Advanced Micro Devices Inc. said third- quarter sales fell from the preceding period.
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The chipmaker posts record revenue, but profits go lower. You're not really surprised, are you?
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TOKYO Global sales of semiconductor equipment will fall short of forecasts this year and shrink next year, according to a survey of manufacturers released Wednesday.
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France, the Netherlands, Finland and Sweden are violating European Union law by favoring chips made by Intel over rival AMD when they buy computers, the European Commission said in formal charges filed on Wednesday.
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Growth in chip sales is set to halve next year due to a glut in the market, Korean chipmaker Samsung has warned. The firm said memory chips were in for a slowdown, with prices for flash memory set to fall as much as 40% in the three months to September.
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Global sales of microchips are expected to rise about 10 percent to $273.8 billion this year after increasing 8.9 percent to $247.7 billion in 2006, an industry group said on Friday.
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Europe&#39;s second-largest chipmaker Infineon Technologies AG has disappointed the market after its year-end results were lower than expected, hit by record antitrust fines and other charges.
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Three more Taiwanese chip makers plan to&#160;spend significantly less money on new factories and equipment&#160;this year as a DRAM (dynamic RAM) glut and uncertainty about the global economy weigh.Lower capital spending forecasts in the chip industry are a sign the global IT industry is on edge about future demand. Analysts have expected DRAM makers to cut back on spending for a long time due to&#160;falling chip prices. Prices for mainstream DDR2 (double data rate, second generation) chips remain below production costs, and most DRAM makers have reported losses for the fourth quarter.Powerchip Semiconductor, Taiwan&#39;s largest memory chip maker, Wednesday said it plans to spend NT$35.1 billion (US$1.09 billion) on new chip factories, technology and production line equipment this year, less than half the NT$86.3 billion it spent last year.Powerchip&#39;s smaller rival on the island, ProMOS Technologies, also more than halved its projected 2008 capital spending to US$800 million, down from US$1.84 billion last year. The company also put the expansion of its fourth 12-inch factory on hold pending a rebound in the DRAM market.United Microelectronics (UMC), the world&#39;s second largest contract chip maker, forecast its 2008 capital spending at US$500 million to US$700 million, down from US$900 million last year.The company&#39;s customers have turned cautious due to global economic worries, said Jackson Hu, CEO of UMC, at an investors&#39; conference in Taipei on Wednesday. The company forecast its chip shipments will decline as much as 15 percent in the first quarter, compared to the fourth quarter of last year as chip demand weakens, particularly for communications chips.Global semiconductor equipment spending is forecast to fall 9.9 percent to US$40.3 billion this year, from US$44.8 billion last year, according to Gartner. The market researcher blamed over-investment by DRAM makers in 2007 for the cutback in semiconductor capital spending this year. Concerns about a U.S. economic recession have also put chip makers in a cautious mood, Gartner said in a report published early this month.&#160;
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(InfoWorld) - Global PC sales have slowed a tad over the past few weeks as the market waits for Intel to announce new price reductions, market researchers said. The world's largest chip maker is widely expected to publish a new price list on July 22 that shows lower prices for microprocessors aimed at the desktop PC market. The company regularly updates its pricing, but doesn't disclose when or how much prices will change, an Intel spokesman said Thursday. Still, PC makers in Taiwan, as well as analysts and market researchers said they receive word of price changes ahead of time, and that the expected Intel price reductions were the reason Advanced Micro DevicesÂ announced microprocessor price cuts earlier this month. AMD slashed prices on its top-of-the-line desktop PC microprocessors by a few hundred dollars, and now offers six AMD Athlon dual-core microprocessors for below $100 each. The AMD move was aimed atÂ pre-empting Intel's anticipated July reductions, according to a report by investment banking firm Goldman Sachs Group. The expected price cuts are a continuation of Intel's battle for market share against rival AMD. It's a fight that has been great for users, particularly in desktop PCs. Microprocessors are among the most expensive parts in a PC, so price cuts on the chips usually lead to better deals for users, either on lower PC prices or more add-ons, such as better DVD drives, more memory, or larger hard disks. The market share battles have also prompted both Intel and AMD to boost technology, resulting in more bang for a user's buck. The price war hasn't been so good for the companies. Intel's stock fell 4.8 percent to end at $25.06 per share on the NASDAQ stock exchange Wednesday, a day afterÂ the company reportedÂ a lower than expected profit margin for the second quarter. Analysts blamed the price war. The fight with Intel has caused AMD to report weaker earnings in recent quarters, and analysts are not optimistic about its second quarter earnings, which it will report later Thursday in the U.S. "We believe the worse than expected gross margin, higher than expected R&D [research and development] spending and low quality earnings leverage (tax rate changes, sold depreciation, etc.) will cast a shadow over [Intel's] stock," wrote Michael Masdea, chip analyst at Credit Suisse Securities (USA), in a recent report. He predicted that Intel gained market share on AMD in the second quarter, based onÂ its earnings report. Market researchers were not able to say exactly how muchÂ the PC marketÂ has slowed over the past few weeks, but indicated that the weaker sales have shown up in various places in the PC component supply chain. Slower trading in the DRAM (dynamic RAM) market, for example, caused prices to drop last week, according to DRAMeXchange Technology, which runs an online DRAM trading site. The company blamed the anticipated Intel price adjustments for the declines. Â
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Global semiconductor sales rose 1.1 percent to $18.2 billion in August from the previous month and it appears as though chip inventories are declining, an industry trade group said Thursday.
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EUROPE&#39;s biggest chipmaker, Infineon, rocked the technology world today as profits fell e100m (Â£70m) short of analysts&#39; expectations.
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Worldwide sales of semiconductors rose 9.2 percent to $21.5 billion in January from a year earlier as economic confidence buoyed demand for consumer products like mobile phones and computers, Bloomberg News reported from Berlin.
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The chip maker now expects revenue of between $8.3 billion and $8.6 billion due to lower-than-expected worldwide demand for its processors as well as "customer reductions in component inventory levels."