Hynix sees DRAM turnaround from July-August

SEOUL (Reuters) - Hynix Semiconductor Inc. (000660.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the world's No. 2 memory chip maker, is going through the worst of the computer memory chip cycle but hopes to see a turnaround from July or August, an executive said on Wednesday.

"So far, the DRAM price decline hasn't stopped," said O.C. Kwon, Hynix's senior vice president of strategic planning, at the Reuters Global Technology, Media and Telecoms Summit.

"But we hope going into the second half, demand-supply dynamics will improve as we expect more accelerated demand growth," Kwon said.

Stronger-than-expected demand for computer memory chips prompted manufacturers to switch more capacity to DRAM (dynamic random access memory) chips from NAND flash chips last year, leading to oversupply, while demand linked to Microsoft's (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) new Vista operating system remained disappointing.

Hynix posted weaker-than-expected growth in quarterly profit last month as prices of its memory chips plunged, and earnings are expected to be even poorer in the second quarter as prices continued their descent.

Hynix ranked second in DRAM sales behind Samsung Electronics (005930.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and ahead of Germany's Qimonda (QI.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) in the fourth quarter. It was also the third-largest NAND maker, trailing Samsung and Toshiba Corp. (6502.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) of Japan, according to research firm iSuppli.