Memorychip maker Winbond Electronics Corp (華邦電子) yesterday said it is expanding DDR3 DRAM capacity to satisfy demand, which would help boost the revenue contribution from the segment to 50 percent of overall DRAM revenue in 2024.
DDR3 DRAM sales make up 30 percent of Winbond’s total DRAM revenue, the company said in a statement.
Winbond said DRAM sales made up more than 20 percent of its revenue of NT$20.77 billion (US$710.1 million) in the second half of last year.
Photo: Grace Hung, Taipei Times
Winbond has been in the DDR3 DRAM business for 10 years and aims to ensure a stable supply to its customers amid a supply crunch.
South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co and SK Hynix Inc are exiting the sector, while new supply from Taiwan and China cannot catch up with demand in the short term.
Prices of DDR3 DRAM chips are to be flat or rise about 5 percent this quarter, market researcher TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said.
A new fab in Kaohsiung is expected to produce 10,000 12-inch wafers a month in the fourth quarter of this year, Winbond said.
To cope with demand, Winbond plans to start a second-phase capacity expansion by adding 10,000 wafers a month at the fab, it said.
In February, the company’s board of directors approved an additional investment of NT$28.99 billion to fund the capacity expansion.
This year, Winbond has budgeted NT$45.8 billion for capital expenditure, surging from NT$9.4 billion last year.
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