Where Intel has reported a 41% leap in third quarter profits, Texas Instruments plunged towards break-even and lost money after writing off some of the goodwill in an acquisition. More significantly, its revenue plunged 17%, making it look no less vulnerable to the buffeting market forces than relatively tiny companies like Micron Technology Inc. The earnings slump was due to sharply lower prices for memory chips, Texas said, with new chief executive Thomas Engibous adding that We are not satisfied with our performance over the last two quarters, and We are accelerating our pace to compete and win in high-growth markets, add stability to our business and create higher value-added solutions for our customers. Texas confirms the tentative trend reported elsewhere, saying prices for dynamic memory chips have turned higher in recent weeks after a dramatic drop since late last year, but improvement has been due to inventory depletion and customers’ anticipation of seasonally stronger personal computer sales, so the market is likely to remain volatile for the near-term. Overall, it expects the world semiconductor market to decline by about 10% this year but it should show a moderate recovery next.
