EL SEGUNDO, Calif.-The memory business did not fail chip companies last year, according to an annual semiconductor ranking from iSuppli Corp. The ranking showed that memory chip companies outperformed companies that concentrated on other products, said iSuppli.
The sales revenue of companies such as Samsung Electronics, Infineon Technologies, AMD/Spansion and Hynix rose from between 29.1 percent and 58 percent in 2004.
The ranking also said others that participated in the sector also received major boosts in revenue. They include Texas Instruments, STMicroelectronics, Philips Semiconductors, Freescale Semiconductor, Qualcomm, Analog Devices and Sharp Electronics.
iSuppli said memory chips surged by 43.5 percent last year owing to strong demand for flash devices and strong DRAM prices. The study said wireless was the fastest-growing application market for semiconductors.
The ranking singled out Samsung as being “in a league of its own,” enjoying 58-percent growth in 2004.
