ISuppli forecasts flat NAND flash market for 2008

SEOUL, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Market research firm iSuppli cut its 2008 NAND annual flash revenue growth forecast from 9 percent to virtually zero, adding that even flat growth may not be achievable this year due to a sharp market downturn.

"With the gloomy economic outlook, excess inventory, slow orders and weak consumer spending, the NAND market will remain under pressure for the foreseeable future," iSuppli said in a note dated Tuesday.

NAND flash memory chips, widely used in portable gadgets such as digital music players and cameras, are especially vulnerable to changes in macroeconomic conditions.

ISuppli also said it now forecast the average global NAND flash selling price to decline by about 60 percent in 2008, compared to its previous forecast of a 56 percent decline.

It said South Korea's Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), the world's top NAND maker, maintained its market lead in the second quarter with a 42.3 percent share of global revenue.

"The company was the only profitable NAND supplier during the second quarter due to its diverse product lines," iSuppli said.

ISuppli also pointed out that U.S. based Micron Technology (MU.N) in the second quarter narrowed its market-share gap with South Korea's Hynix Semiconductor (000660.KS), setting the stage for a fight for the No.3 position this year.

Japan's Toshiba (6502.T) remained in second position.

"The flash industry is abuzz with talk about Solid-State Drives (SSDs) and other emerging applications that could drive new NAND demand," said Nam Hyung Kim, chief analyst and director at iSuppli. "However, none of these applications is expected to change the momentum of the NAND business anytime soon."

(Reporting by Marie-France Han; Editing by Keiron Henderson)