Global semiconductor sales fell 10.5 in 2009: Gartner

Global semiconductor sales fell 10.5 per cent last year, the first time the industry has seen two consecutive years of revenue declines, according to research firm Gartner.

Gartner, the world's leading information technology research firm said today that the total worldwide semiconductor revenue was $228.4 billion in 2009, down $26.8 billion, or 10.5 per cent, from 2008.

Gartner said that this is the first time the industry has seen two consecutive years of revenue declines. However, the industry performed much better than expected in the second half, setting the stage for strong 2010 growth against weak comparables.

"After an unprecedented decline in the fourth quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009, sequential quarterly revenue growth for the industry overall was very strong in the last three quarters of 2009," said Peter Middleton, principal research analyst at Gartner. "As a result, 2009 performance overall was much milder than initially feared in the aftermath of the financial crisis."

Gartner's annual semiconductor market share analysis examines and ranks the worldwide and regional revenue for more than 270 semiconductor suppliers in 64 separate product categories and eight major market categories. It serves as a benchmark for semiconductor industry performance, as well as a means for individual companies to assess their revenue performance against their competitors.

Intel held the top position for the 18th consecutive year. It increased its market share to 14.6 per cent in 2009 from 13.6 per cent despite its revenue declining $1.6 billion. This performance was primarily due to the relative strength of the PC market, mobiles in particular, which sold well despite the recession.

Samsung Electronics was one of the few companies to see a revenue increase in 2009. Part of the reason for this was that its main product lines, DRAM and NAND flash, had already seen strong declines in 2008, causing the vendors to quickly react to 2009 conditions by adjusting supply.

Hynix Semiconductor, like its rival Samsung, saw revenue growth. For Hynix, the growth came from the DRAM market, where it was able to gain share and increase revenue in a market that saw revenue decline.