Memory vendors outperform industry in 2013

Gartner has reported that the global semiconductor revenue reached $315.4 billion in 2013, a 5.2 percent increase from 2012 revenue of $299.9 billion. The top 25 semiconductor vendors' combined revenue increased 6.2 percent, a significantly better performance than the rest of the market, whose revenue growth was 2.9 percent. This was, in part, due to the concentration of memory vendors, which saw significant growth in the top ranking, indicated the market analytics firm.

"After a weak start to 2013 due to excess inventory, revenue growth strengthened in the second and third quarters before leveling off in Q4. Memory, in particular DRAM, led this growth, not due to strong demand, but rather weak supply growth," said Andrew Norwood, research VP at Gartner. "In fact, the overall market faced a number of demand headwinds with PC production declining nine percent and the premium smartphone market showing signs of saturation, with growth tilting toward lower-priced, entry-level and midrange smartphone models. These demand headwinds become very visible when looking at revenue growth outside of memory, where the rest of the semiconductor market could only muster 0.4 percent growth."

Intel recorded a 2.2 percent revenue decline as strong performance in its data center and embedded systems group was not enough to offset a declining PC market, and limited traction and declining prices for its tablet and smartphone solutions. However, the company maintained the No. 1 market share position for the 22nd consecutive year, capturing 15.2 percent of the 2013 semiconductor market, down slightly from its peak of 16.5 percent in 2011.

As a group, memory vendors outperformed the rest of the semiconductor industry.

"Within the memory market DRAM was in the midst of a strong rebound following two years of revenue decline. The recovery started at the end of 2012 when the market was moving back into an undersupply due to lack of new capacity resulting in commodity DRAM pricing more than doubling during the year," said Norwood.

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