Korean DRAMs No. 1 in global market

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, the two biggest dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) producers in Korea, claimed a record combined market share of nearly 68 percent last year, according to market researcher IHS’s recent report exclusively acquired by Yonhap News agency Wednesday.

According to the media, Samsung Electronics accounted for 40.4 percent of the global market, followed by SK Hynix’s 27.4 percent.

Micron Technology of the United States took third place, with 24.6 percent, when DRAM chips produced by the bankrupt Japanese chipmaker Elpida Memory, which Micon acquired in 2012, are also taken into account.

IHS has combined the data from Micron and Elpida since the third quarter of 2013 and this is the first time SK Hynix has exceeded the sum of the two companies.

At fourth through sixth were Taiwanese companies Nanya Technology, Winbond Electronic and Powerchip Semiconductor with shares ranging between 1 and 3.5 percent.

Samsung’s market leadership is largely indebted to its industry-leading 20-nanometer (nm) mass production technology for DRAMs used in personal computers introduced last year. The technology made it possible for Samsung to gain 30 percent more productivity than with existing 25-nm-based methods.

DRAM sales also contributed to Samsung’s surprising first quarter results announced earlier this week.

The tech bellwether said its operating profit in the three months ending March rose 11.5 percent from the previous three months to 5.9 trillion won ($5.4 billion), beating an analyst consensus of 5.4 trillion won.

Last year, the global DRAM market was $4.62 million, up 32 percent from a year earlier, according to IHS.

The researcher forecasts the DRAM market will grow an additional 6.1 percent to $4.9 million this year.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun@joongang.co.kr]