Global semiconductor revenue to drop 17 per cent in 2009: Gartner

Worldwide semiconductor revenues will reach $212 billion in 2009, a 17.1-per cent decline from 2008 revenue of $255 billion, according to the latest outlook by Gartner, Inc.

This forecast is better than the second quarter projections when Gartner envisioned revenues to decline 22.4 per cent for the year.

''The semiconductor market has performed better than expected, as was evident when second quarter semiconductor revenue increased 17 per cent in sequential sales,'' said Bryan Lewis, research vice president at Gartner.

''Consumers reacted strongly to reduced PC and LCD TV pricing as price elasticity was amazing. The industry also benefited from the China stimulus package that worked remarkably well to boost short-term demand. Governments worldwide took action quickly and extensively to avoid a meltdown, and it worked,'' he added.

Gartner said that some of the leading semiconductor vendors reported positive second quarter sequential revenue growth that bodes well for the PC and cell phone segments.

Intel posted 12 per cent sequential revenue growth, while Samsung, the No 2 semiconductor vendor based on 2008 revenue, posted a 30 per cent increase sequentially in chip sales driven by firming memory prices, exchange rates, and a rebound in PC production. Qualcomm, the No 8 ranked semiconductor vendor last year, reported that its cell phone chip sales increased 35.7 per cent sequentially.