Elpida posts $575 mln Q3 loss amid weak DRAM market

TOKYO Feb 2 (Reuters) - Elpida Memory Inc, Japan's last surviving maker of DRAM chips used in personal computers, booked a quarterly operating loss on Thursday, hit by a falling prices and weak demand as consumers increasingly shift to flash-memory using tablets.

Elpida, which is reportedly seeking a tie-up with Micron Technology of the United States and Taiwan's Nanya Technology, reported an operating loss of 43.8 billion yen ($575 million) in the October-December quarter, against a loss of 26.9 billion yen a year earlier.

It does not provide guidance for annual earnings but analysts have forecast an average operating loss of 100.3 billion yen in the year to March, according to a poll of 19 brokerages by ThomsonReuters I/B/E/S.

On a net basis, public broadcaster NHK reported earlier in the day that it was likely to post a 120 billion annual loss, greater than an average 110 billion yen net loss forecast by analysts.

The dynamic random-access memory chip maker is fighting to gain market share to survive oversupply and depressed prices against bigger rivals like South Korea's Samsung Electronics and Hynix Semiconductor .