TrendForce "SK HBM Market Share Rises by 3.4%P"
Only DRAM Maker with Increased Market Share
"Samsung Electronics Produces HBM3E Wafers"
Thanks to the expansion of shipments of high value-added DRAM such as high-bandwidth memory (HBM) in the second quarter of this year, the total sales scale of the global memory industry exceeded 30 trillion won.
While the market shares of major companies such as Samsung Electronics and Micron shrank compared to the previous quarter, SK Hynix, which is leading the HBM market, saw its market share rise alone.
According to market research firm TrendForce on the 15th, the total sales of the global DRAM industry in the second quarter of this year were $22.9 billion (about 31 trillion won), up 24.8% from the previous quarter (first quarter).
TrendForce analyzed, "Sales increased due to the expansion of shipments of mainstream products that increased profits," adding, "Profitability was also maintained due to DRAM price increases, reversal of inventory loss provisions, and maximum utilization of production capacity."
Samsung Electronics, which ranked first in DRAM market sales in the first quarter, maintained its top position in the second quarter with sales of $9.8 billion (about 13.4 trillion won). However, Samsung Electronics' DRAM market share slightly decreased by 1 percentage point from 43.9% in the first quarter to 42.9% in the second quarter.
TrendForce evaluated, "Samsung maintained a leading position in the market as DRAM sales grew 22% with an average selling price (ASP) increase of 17-19% and a slight increase in bit shipments."
SK Hynix, which ranked second in sales in the first quarter, saw its sales increase by 38.7% to $7.9 billion (about 10.8 trillion won) in the second quarter. Accordingly, SK Hynix's DRAM market share rose by 3.4 percentage points from 31.1% in the first quarter to 34.5% in the second quarter.
Among major DRAM companies, SK Hynix was the only one whose market share increased compared to the previous quarter in the second quarter. TrendForce analyzed that SK Hynix grew as bit shipments increased by more than 20% due to the certification and mass shipment of the 5th generation product HBM3E, resulting in nearly a 40% increase in sales.
Micron also saw bit shipments increase by 15-16%, with second-quarter sales rising 14.1% to $4.5 billion (about 6 trillion won) compared to the previous quarter. However, its DRAM market share shrank from 21.5% in the first quarter to 19.6% in the second quarter.
TrendForce forecasted that DRAM prices will continue to rise in the third quarter following the second quarter. TrendForce predicted, "DRAM manufacturers completed contract price negotiations for the third quarter with PC makers and cloud service providers (CSPs) at the end of last month. It seems they achieved better-than-expected results."
Accordingly, the contract price increase rate for DRAM in the third quarter was revised upward from the previous forecast by about 5 percentage points to 8-13%.
The final contract price in the second quarter was adjusted by 13-18% due to the earthquake that struck Taiwan in early April and high demand for HBM.
Meanwhile, TrendForce reported that Samsung Electronics has started producing HBM3E wafers at its current factory.
TrendForce observed, "(After Nvidia quality testing) this is to ship HBM3E in a timely manner," adding, "It will affect the DDR5 production schedule in the second half of this year."
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