Worst seen over for Semicon industry

MANILA, Philippines—After suffering quarter after quarter of volume and revenue declines, the worst may finally be over for the global semiconductor industry, according to research firm iSuppli Corp.

While the year was still seen to close on a low note, iSuppli senior vice president Dale Ford said full-year results would likely be better than originally expected.

“The year 2009 will be remembered as one of the most dismal years in the history of the global semiconductor business, with a plunge of more than $32 billion in revenue compared to 2008. However, iSuppli’s preliminary estimate of a 12.4-percent decline is far better than expectations from early 2009 of a more than 20-percent plunge,” he said in a statement posted on the firm’s official website.

“There was little room for anything but pessimism after the industry suffered a sequential revenue decline of 21.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 and an 18-percent drop in the first quarter of 2009. However, semiconductor sales rebounded smartly after that, with sequential increases of more than 18 percent in the second and third quarters and an expected 5-percent rise in the fourth quarter. This strong rebound means 2009 will be much less painful than had been feared earlier in the year,” he added.

He said higher sales of consumer electronics and wireless products, as well as strong performance in the memory market would provide the global semiconductor industry a much needed push for the remainder of the year.

In an earlier interview, Semiconductors and Electronics Industries of the Philippines Inc. chair Arthur Young said that with sales of personal computers and mobile phones expected to be stronger than anticipated this year, the local semiconductor industry would be given a boost.

“We’re still maintaining [our forecast of a decline] in the 20-percent range, but we may do better than that, depending on this last month. We should post very solid numbers, going forward. We’re facing strong recovery,” he said.

Research firm Gartner revised its earlier forecast of a decline in the PC market, saying PC shipments should increase by 2.8 percent this year to 298.9 million units.

Gartner had earlier predicted a 2-percent drop in PC sales for the year. –Philippine Daily Inquirer