Chip cos revenues to grow 20%

BANGALORE: The worldwide semiconductor revenue is forecasted to reach $276 billion in 2010, a 19.9% increase from 2009 revenue of $231 billion, an outlook by IT research and advisory firm Gartner said.

“We have seen clear evidence that the semiconductor industry is poised for strong growth in 2010,” Bryan Lewis, research vice-president at Gartner said. “While the semiconductor market declined 9.6% in 2009, sequential quarterly revenue growth was very strong in the last three quarters of 2009.” Gartner said PC production is expected to grow close to 20% in 2010, pushing up semiconductor sales.

The third quarter is generally the strongest quarter for semiconductor sales with sequential growth of 9% as system companies build product for back-to-school and the holiday season.

Gartners new semiconductor forecast show a seven per cent rise in third-quarter sales followed by a relatively flat fourth-quarter, which will better align semiconductor sales with system sales.

PCs and memory are the primary drivers for semiconductor revenue growth in 2010.

Gartner expect the semiconductor industry to show continued growth through its forecast period in 2014. The market is on track to surpass the USD 300 billion mark in 2012 when the market is forecast to total USD 304 billion.