Samsung Elec sees Thailand floods hurting PC output, chip prices

SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), the world's top computer memory chip maker, said on Friday that it expected Thailand's floods to dampen sales of personal computers and prices of DRAM chips used in PCs.

"We expect PC (sales) to be lower than expected (because of the flooding in Thailand). As a result, we expect weakness in DRAM prices," an executive at Samsung told an earnings conference call.

Floods in Thailand threaten up to 30 percent of hard disk output, hurting a PC industry already facing challenges from smartphones and tablets such as Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) iPad and slowing spending on technology hardware.

(Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Tae-yi Kim; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)