NOR flash bucks seasonal trend with Stellar Q2
Reversing the normal seasonal trend, worldwide NOR flash memory revenue rose in the second quarter compared to the first, according to a preliminary estimate from iSuppli Corp.
"The second quarter traditionally is the slowest period of the year in the NOR market," said Mark DeVoss, senior analyst, flash /SRAM/MCP for iSuppli. "However, second-quarter revenue this year amounted to $2.13 billion, up 6 percent from $2.01 billion in the first quarter. Revenue in the second quarter came in 4 percent higher than iSuppli previously had forecasted."
NOR flash revenue in the second quarter of 2006 was nearly 19 percent higher than during the same period in 2005. Unit shipments of NOR flash in the second quarter of 2006 were 10 percent higher than in the first quarter and up 25 percent compared to the second quarter of 2005.
NOR market revenues were boosted by a slowing in the rate of Average Selling Price (ASP) declines. The total ASP for NOR flash declined by 4 percent sequentially in the second quarter, compared to an 8 percent drop during the same period in 2005.
Also fuelling the increase in revenues was the rising number of shipments of high-density devices, i.e. greater than 64Mbits, which have larger ASPs. Unit shipments for these densities increased by 139 percent year over year in the second quarter, indicating strong use of NOR not only in the memory's core market in mobile phones, but increasingly in consumer products like set-top boxes, digital televisions and automotive in-cabin electronics.
Spansion Inc. retained its lead in the global NOR flash market with sales of $655 million, up 16.5 percent from the first quarter, the highest sequential rate of increase among the top-five suppliers. Company NOR sales were up nearly 40 percent compared to the second quarter of 2005. Company market share increased to 30.7 percent, up from 27.9 percent in the first quarter, helping it to pad its lead over rival Intel Corp.
The table below presents iSuppli¹s preliminary worldwide ranking of NOR flash suppliers in the second quarter.
Table: Q2 2006 Preliminary Top-Five NOR Flash Market Ranking (Ranking by Revenue in Millions of U.S. Dollars)
