Elpida's (TYO:6665) Taiwan Subsidiary Turned Profitable in September Quarter

Tokyo, Oct 9, 2009 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Japanese PC memory maker Elpida Memory Inc (TYO:6665) said its production subsidiary, Taiwan firm Rexchip Electronics Corp, turned profitable in July-September on rising prices of Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM). Rexchip is expected to report a net profit of almost 1 billion yen for the quarter, the first time to make operating net profits in five quarters.

Rexchip Electronics Corp., a manufacturer of DRAMs used in personal computers and servers, was established as a joint venture between Elpida and Taiwan's Powerchip Semiconductor Corp.(TPO:5346), it was turned into an Elpida subsidiary in March.

DRAM prices has soared 30-80% in the past three months on growing demand for high-performance varieties. Elpida expect the profit will be strengthened as the recovery in chip prices continues.

Elpida, which is competing with South Korean manufacturers Samsung Electronics Co (SEO:005930) and Hynix Semiconductor Inc (SEO:000660), also plans to spend 30-40 billion yen on a gradual shift to 45nm DRAMs, which allow for fast data transfer speeds and low power consumption.

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