PREVIEW:Asia DRAM Firms' Jul-Sep Results Likely Improved
19 Ottobre 2009 - 11:36AM
Dow Jones News
TAKING THE PULSE: Asia's makers of dynamic random access memory
chips are likely to report a big improvement in their financial
results for quarter ended Sept. 30 on back of higher chip prices
supported by solid electronics demand.
Analysts are optimistic about the outlook for the DRAM industry
moving forward with the upcoming holiday shopping season and the
launch of Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) Windows 7 operating system later
this month supporting chip demand.
DRAM chips are most widely used in personal computers.
"DRAM prices have been steadily rising more than expected since
July," said Haruo Sato, an analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Center
Co. "The market should gain more momentum from strong consumer
spending in emerging markets towards the year-end."
COMPANIES TO WATCH:
Nanya Technology Corp. (2408.TW) - (Oct. 21)
Market Expectations: Taiwan's largest DRAM maker by revenue
likely posted a net loss of NT$3.79 billion for the three months
ended Sept. 30, according to a Dow Jones Newswires survey of six
analysts. That would be narrower than a net loss of NT$8.77 billion
a year earlier and the company's tenth consecutive quarterly net
loss.
Revenue for the three months ended Sept. 30 rose slightly to
NT$11.51 billion from NT$11.50 billion a year earlier, according to
the company's monthly filings.
Key Issues: Investors will want to know the latest progress of
Nanya's technology migration. Nanya said in August it would start
pilot run of more advanced 50-nanometer chip production.
Hynix Semiconductor Inc. (000660.SE) - (Oct. 23)
Market Expectations: The world's second-largest DRAM maker by
sales after Samsung Electronics Co., likely swung to a net profit
of KRW352.9 billion for the three months ended Sept. 30, according
to the average forecast of seven analysts polled by Dow Jones
Newswires. It would be the first quarterly net profit for Hynix
after posting losses for seven consecutive quarters and would also
be a sharp reversal from a net loss of KRW1.67 trillion a year
earlier. Revenue likely rose 14% to KRW2.09 trillion from KRW1.84
trillion a year earlier, while operating profit is expected at
KRW252.6 billion, reversing from an operating loss of KRW465
billion a year earlier.
Key Issues: Hynix may tell investors how much it has earmarked
for its 2010 capital expenditure budget after its chief executive
recently said the chipmaker's capital spending will be larger than
this year's KRW1 trillion. The company may also touch on details of
creditors' progress of a planned stake sale to Hyosung Corp.
(004800.SE), which solely submitted late September to buy a major
stake in the chipmaker.
Samsung Electronics Co. (005930.SE) - (Oct.30)
Market Expectations: Samsung, the world's biggest DRAM maker by
revenue, will likely post a net profit of KRW3.37 trillion for the
three months ended Sept. 30, nearly tripling from KRW1.22 trillion
a year earlier, according to the average forecast of nine analysts
polled by Dow Jones Newswires. Consolidated sales likely rose 20%
to KRW36.44 trillion from KRW30.27 trillion a year earlier, while
operating profit likely more than doubled to KRW3.84 trillion from
KRW1.48 trillion a year earlier.
Samsung said earlier this month that it estimates third-quarter
consolidated sales at between KRW35 trillion and KRW37 trillion,
while its operating profit is estimated at between KRW3.9 trillion
and KRW4.3 trillion. Analysts expect the company to see around KRW1
trillion in operating profit from its semiconductor business in the
third quarter and also expect Samsung's DRAM business to have
returned to the black in the third quarter after remaining in the
red for the past several quarters. In addition to memory chips,
Samsung also makes cellphones and liquid crystal display
televisions.
Key Issues: Samsung may give its 2010 investment plan for its
memory-chip division after the company said its investment in
semiconductors for next year will be larger than that of this
year.
Elpida Memory Inc. (6665.TO) - (Nov.5)
Market Expectations: Japan's exclusive DRAM maker likely more
than halved its net loss to Y14.37 billion for the July-September
quarter from Y31.87 billion a year earlier, according to a poll of
11 analysts by Thomson Reuters. Revenue likely fell to Y93.71
billion from Y113.58 billion. Analysts said Elpida likely was able
to post a narrower net loss due to its cost-cutting efforts.
Elpida last week said it expects to have lost Y8 billion on a
net basis in the July-September quarter, gaining support from
higher chip prices and technological improvement for shrinking chip
sizes to raise production efficiency. The company also said it
likely generated Y96 billion in revenue in the three months ended
Sept. 30, compared with Y72.6 billion in the April-June
quarter.
Key Issues: Investors are paying attention to how Elpida will
team up with Taiwanese chip makers by planning to raise funds from
government-backed Taiwan Memory Co.
Powerchip Semiconductor Corp. (5346.OT) - (By Oct. 31)
Market Expectations: Taiwan's second-largest DRAM maker by
revenue after Nanya Technology likely posted a net loss of NT$6.84
billion for the third quarter, narrowing significantly from a net
loss of NT$15.02 billion a year earlier, according to a Dow Jones
Newswires survey of six analysts. That would be the company's tenth
straight quarterly net loss. Powerchip's second-quarter revenue
fell 50.4% to NT$7.43 billion from NT$14.97 billion a year earlier,
according to the company's monthly sales reports.
Key Issues: Powerchip's finances remain a key concern among
investors. If the chip maker cannot raise funds on its own, it is
expected to continue selling its stake in joint venture Rexchip
Electronics Corp. But given improving demand, another focus is
Powerchip's capacity restoration plan after previous production
cuts.
-By Yuzo Yamaguchi, Dow Jones Newswires, +813 6895 7563; yuzo.yamaguchi@dowjones.com
(Jung-Ah Lee in Seoul and Jessie Ho in Taipei contributed to
this article.)