Samsung Electronics closing in on Intel in semiconductors market

Samsung Electronics closing in on Intel in semiconductors market

South Korean company Samsung is closing in on US based Intel to become the dominating player in the semiconductors market.

Intel was struggling in this sector till few months back as they faced massive challenge from their smaller rivals AMD in the PC microprocessor market.

Market analysts have claimed that Samsung’s sales in its semiconductor division rose 10 percent to $19.7 billion last year. This is around 63 percent of Intel’s $31.5 billion. In 2005, Samsung’s sales were around half of Intel’s.

Dale Ford, vice president of iSuppli added in their report: “For U.S. microprocessor giant Intel, 2006 was the worst of times, as its global semiconductor revenue dropped by 11.1 percent from 2005. The revenue decline, which was due to Intel’s bleak performance in its core PC microprocessor and flash-memory businesses, erased nearly all of the company’s sales gains from its strong year in 2005.”