Home
News
In Focus
Business
Metro
Nation
World
Sports
Feature
Opinion
View more »Opinion Columns
Wan LixinOpinion deputy editor of Shanghai Daily
Restaurants get off to a quick start thanks to game-changing policies
High service charges on event ticket refunds call for further regulation
Sunday
- Subscribe
Related News
Hynix's net loss in Q4 widens on weak won, declining prices
By Kelly Olsen |
February 6, 2009, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
HYNIX Semiconductor Inc, the world's second-largest manufacturer of memory chips, said yesterday its fourth-quarter net loss more than doubled amid falling prices and weakness in the South Korean won.
Hynix has racked up five straight quarters of red ink amid a long price slump in the semiconductor industry that has also hit rivals such as Samsung Electronics Co. German memory-chip maker Qimonda AG declared bankruptcy last month.
Creditors for Icheon, South Korea-based Hynix announced a plan in December to provide the company with 800 billion won in new capital to help it overcome a cash squeeze.
Hynix lost 1.33 trillion won (US$964.27 million) in the three months ended on December 31, the company said in a statement. Hynix posted a net loss of 469 billion won a year earlier.
The fourth-quarter result was Hynix's worst net loss since it began reporting earnings on a quarterly basis in 2003, said company spokeswoman Park Seong-ae.
Sales during the quarter fell 31 percent to 1.21 trillion won from 1.73 trillion won a year earlier.
Hynix announced in December that it would slash the pay of top officials, reduce its executive ranks, encourage workers to quit voluntarily and make all employees take two weeks of unpaid leave between January and April this year to trim costs.
Hynix manufactures both NAND flash and DRAM, or dynamic random access memory, chips. NAND chips are used in digital devices such as music players and cameras, while DRAM chips are used mostly in personal computers.
The company said that DRAM prices fell 43 percent from the third quarter, while NAND prices dropped 18 percent.
Semiconductor manufacturers have been hurt by a prolonged decline in prices for both kinds of chips due to oversupply. The global economic slowdown has also slashed demand for the consumer electronics that the chips help power.
Samsung, the world's largest memory chip maker, last month reported its first ever quarterly net deficit, losing 20 billion won in the fourth quarter.
Hynix said weakness in the South Korean won combined with the company's "high level of dollar-denominated outstanding debt" also contributed to its net loss.
Park said the debt totaled about US$5.3 billion at the end of 2008.
The South Korean won was one of the world's worst-performing currencies last year, falling nearly 26 percent against the US dollar.
Hynix has racked up five straight quarters of red ink amid a long price slump in the semiconductor industry that has also hit rivals such as Samsung Electronics Co. German memory-chip maker Qimonda AG declared bankruptcy last month.
Creditors for Icheon, South Korea-based Hynix announced a plan in December to provide the company with 800 billion won in new capital to help it overcome a cash squeeze.
Hynix lost 1.33 trillion won (US$964.27 million) in the three months ended on December 31, the company said in a statement. Hynix posted a net loss of 469 billion won a year earlier.
The fourth-quarter result was Hynix's worst net loss since it began reporting earnings on a quarterly basis in 2003, said company spokeswoman Park Seong-ae.
Sales during the quarter fell 31 percent to 1.21 trillion won from 1.73 trillion won a year earlier.
Hynix announced in December that it would slash the pay of top officials, reduce its executive ranks, encourage workers to quit voluntarily and make all employees take two weeks of unpaid leave between January and April this year to trim costs.
Hynix manufactures both NAND flash and DRAM, or dynamic random access memory, chips. NAND chips are used in digital devices such as music players and cameras, while DRAM chips are used mostly in personal computers.
The company said that DRAM prices fell 43 percent from the third quarter, while NAND prices dropped 18 percent.
Semiconductor manufacturers have been hurt by a prolonged decline in prices for both kinds of chips due to oversupply. The global economic slowdown has also slashed demand for the consumer electronics that the chips help power.
Samsung, the world's largest memory chip maker, last month reported its first ever quarterly net deficit, losing 20 billion won in the fourth quarter.
Hynix said weakness in the South Korean won combined with the company's "high level of dollar-denominated outstanding debt" also contributed to its net loss.
Park said the debt totaled about US$5.3 billion at the end of 2008.
The South Korean won was one of the world's worst-performing currencies last year, falling nearly 26 percent against the US dollar.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
