UPDATE 1-MEMC swings to loss on lower sales

* 4Q revenue $356 mln vs consensus $336.89 mln

* Says pricing pressures have moderated

SAN FRANCISCO Feb 3 (Reuters) - Silicon maker MEMC Electronic Materials Inc (WFR.N) on Wednesday posted a quarterly loss on lower sales but said pricing pressures have moderated and product volume continued to increase.

MEMC's fourth-quarter net loss was $7.1 million, or 3 cents per share, compared with a net income of $70.3 million, or 31 cents per share, a year ago.

The results include transaction expenses of $2.5 million for the acquisition of SunEdison as well as SunEdison's operational results from Nov. 20 through Dec. 31, 2009.

Wall Street analysts' on average estimated the company to break even on a per share basis, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Net sales fell 17 percent to $352.9 million during the fourth quarter but rose 14 percent sequentially from the third quarter.

The maker of the key raw material for the solar and semiconductor industries has been hurt by a decline in silicon prices.

The industry is hoping for a rebound this year after a difficult 2009 when prices for solar parts fell and the credit crisis choked off funding for new projects. Investors, however, fear that proposed subsidy cuts in Germany, the world's largest solar market, could cast a pall over the market.

(Reporting by Poornima Gupta)