/ciol/media/agency_attachments/c0E28gS06GM3VmrXNw5G.png)
Follow UsBANGALORE, INDIA: Worldwide semiconductor sales rose 47.6 per cent annually in May, helped by strong sales of personal computers, cell phones, corporate information technology, industrial applications and autos, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) said.
The chip industry, which rose from a trough and gained momentum in the second half of 2009, is likely to see year-on-year growth rates slow down during the second half of 2010, SIA said.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index was trading up 1 per cent at 335.29 Tuesday noon after touching a high of 339.89 earlier in the day.
Also read: Semicon equipment spend to grow 113 per cent in 2010
Intel Corp and Advanced Micro Devices shares were trading up 2 per cent, Micron Technology Inc up 4 per cent, and Texas Instruments up 1 per cent, as U.S. stocks rose broadly following five days of losses.
Although the rate of growth slowed slightly, semiconductor sales rose to $24.7 billion in May from $16.7 billion a year ago.
"Emerging markets, including China and India, are fueling sales of computation and communications products," SIA President George Scalise said in a statement.
Also read: India semicon revenue to cross $8 bn in 2011
SIA expects unit sales of personal computers to grow by 20 per cent and sales of cell phones to grow by 10 per cent to 12 per cent this year.
Recently, analog chipmaker Texas Instruments Inc said second-quarter earnings and revenue would be at the high end of its previous estimates, citing strong broad-based demand for its chips, particularly from industrial customers.
"Growing concerns about issues such as government debt, declining consumer confidence, and pressures on government spending do not appear to have affected worldwide semiconductor sales to date," the SIA president said.
He added that these issues bear watching given the chip industry's growing sensitivity to macroeconomic conditions.
Major chipmakers include Intel, Texas Instruments, Advanced Micro Devices, National Semiconductor Corp, Nvidia Corp, Qualcomm Corp, STMicroelectronics, Samsung Electronics Co and Hynix Semiconductor.