Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman: Memory chip market is beginning to show signs of recovery

According to foreign media reports, Kim Ki-nam, vice chairman of South Korean giant Samsung Electronics, said on Tuesday that the memory chip market is starting to show signs of improvement, which makes Samsung Electronics need to carefully consider the start of its second-quarter memory chip factory in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi time.

The Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman told the media at the CES show in Las Vegas: "There are signs that the market is recovering. But it is still difficult to predict how much the market will recover and what factors will be difficult to predict. effect."

Samsung's second memory chip production plant is about to be completed, and its area is equivalent to 400 football fields. The plant is scheduled to start production this year. A report published by the Asiana Institute of Finance stated that chip prices are likely to stabilize in the first quarter of this year and recover in the second quarter.

Kim said Samsung could soon decide when to start their second memory chip factory in Pyeongtaek based on market trends. "We will make decisions based on changing market conditions and our (business) arrangements," he said. "As for whether this plant will mass produce advanced NAND chips, Kim said:" It also depends on market conditions. "

The company ’s preliminary financial report released on Wednesday showed that Samsung ’s semiconductor business is expected to rebound in the first half of this year, ending last year ’s downward trend.

Earlier today, Samsung announced that the company had received 59 trillion won (approximately $ 50.2 billion) in sales in the fourth quarter of 2019 and had an operating profit of 7.1 trillion won.

Due to the decline in chip demand and prices, the company's sales and operating profit fell by 0.46% and 34.26%, respectively.

For the full year of 2019, the company's operating profit fell 52.95% year-on-year to 27.71 trillion won; revenue fell 5.85% year-on-year to 22,952 million won. This is the company's lowest operating profit since 2015 and its lowest revenue since 2016.

Market observers said that the weakness in the chip market is expected to ease as early as the first quarter of this year, and pointed out that Samsung ’s fourth-quarter earnings report slightly exceeded market expectations.

The semiconductor industry has now shown signs of recovery. At the same time, due to the introduction of 5G services and foldable screen phones, the market's demand for smartphones has also ushered in. Some analysts predict that Samsung's operating profit this year may increase by up to 40%.