(image: Samsung Electronics)
SEOUL, Aug. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — The global price for dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips rose 5.2 percent on-month in July, data showed Thursday, casting brighter outlook over second-half earnings for South Korean chipmakers.
According to the data compiled by industry tracker DRAMeXchange, the average contract price for the mainstay DDR4 4Gb 512Mx8 2133MHz came to US$3.25 as of end-July, marking a rise from $3.09 posted a month earlier.
The latest figure also marks a whopping 67.5 percent surge from $1.94 posted at end-2016.
Industry watchers said the rise in prices will be reflected in the performances of South Korea’s two major tech giants, Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc., especially since supply cannot be increased at present.
Samsung and SK hynix currently takes up nearly 70 percent of the global market for DRAM products.
The two companies enjoyed better-than-expected returns for the April-June period on the back of the current boom. Samsung Electronics posted an operating profit of 8.03 trillion won in the second quarter for its chip business, soaring from 2.64 trillion won posted a year earlier.
SK hynix also said its second-quarter operating profit advanced 573.7 percent on-year to reach a record 3.05 trillion won in the second quarter.
(Yonhap)
