Kingston on top in DRam sector
Chip maker stretches market share to more than three times that of nearest rival
Kingston Technology is celebrating topping the DRam module maker charts again following the latest 2006 rankings report from iSuppli.
Based on revenues, the company’s DRam module sales exceeded $2.2bn in 2006, almost $800m higher than in 2005. As a result, Kingston commanded an 18.1 per cent slice of the market, more than three times that of its nearest rival, Smart Modular, which had a 5.5 per cent share.
David Sun, co-founder of Kingston, said: “To be number one on iSuppli’s list is both exciting and humbling, especially as Kingston turns 20-years old later this year.”
The current DRam market conditions though are a lot less favourable now than in 2006, according to iSuppli’s quarter-two report. The market researcher claimed that the DRam market plummeted almost 25 per cent in Q2, calling it a ‘DRam disaster’. Global DRam revenues dropped by 24.1 per cent to $7.3bn against Q1, while both Samsung and Micron saw their own revenues dragged down by 16.7 per cent and 15.7 per cent respectively during the same period.
“It was a terrible quarter for DRam makers, with only one supplier among the top 10, Etron Technology, managing to grow its revenue during the period,” iSuppli said in its report. “A major culprit behind the poor market conditions was a rise in part availability, with megabit shipments increasing by 23 per cent during the period. This was nearly three points higher than the increase predicted by iSuppli, indicating that the market oversupply in the second quarter was even more severe than anticipated.”
Despite the tough market conditions, market leader Samsung managed to widen the gap at the top in revenue terms by boosting its share to 28.4 per cent, up 2.5 per cent on Q1. Hynix stayed in the number two spot with 20.7 per cent worth of DRam revenues. However, in unit shipments, Samsung managed to regain its crown from rival Hynix, which saw its sales drop off by almost 30 per cent in Q2.
The market is expected to stabilise in the second half of the year.