ASPs down but bankrupt Elpida on the up in Q1 DRAM market

A quarter of contrasts in the bonkers world of memory, IHS iSuppli research finds

A topsy-turvy first quarter for the DRAM market saw bankrupt Japanese player Elpida rise up the vendor rankings as its main rivals suffered from a drop in average selling prices (ASPs).

Figures from IHS iSuppli reveal that the global worth of the DRAM market in Q1 fell 4.4 per cent sequentially to $6.2bn (£3.9bn). Long-time market leader Samsung saw its market slip 2.4 points to 40.8 per cent as its revenue declined 9.7 per cent on the prior quarter to $2.5bn.

Second-placed Hynix posted revenue of $1.5bn, down 2.4 per cent sequentially. But the Korean firm saw its share of the market grow by half a point to 24.2 per cent.

Elpida sneaked back into third place after its revenue grew almost one per cent to $780m. The embattled outfit, which went bankrupt with debts of $5bn earlier this year, overtook fourth-placed Micron – the company that has won the exclusive right to bid to become its new owner.

Nanya rounded out the top five and was the quarter's top-performing vendor, with revenue growing 24.2 per cent on Q411 to $282m. Its market share rose by a point to 4.5 per cent.

Micron was possibly the most acutely affected by declining pricing, as the US company saw a 16 per cent dip in ASPs completely negate shipment growth of 15 per cent. IHS iSuppli speculates that top dog Samsung is waiting until the latter part of 2011 – when pricing is expected to spike – to increase its shipment levels.

Mike Howard, senior principal analyst for DRAM and memory research at IHS, said: "Because it would derive the most benefit and has the requisite cash to make a deal, Micron was the most logical choice to purchase Elpida."