Intel still top chipmaker in '07, AMD drops: iSuppli

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Intel (INTC.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) will increase its market share by the end of 2007 to 12.5 percent, keeping its place as the world's top chipmaker, while rival AMD (AMD.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) will drop out of the top 10, research firm iSuppli predicted.

Samsung Electronics (005930.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) will remain the world's second-biggest chipmaker with 7.4 percent of the market while Toshiba (6502.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) will rise to third place, pushing Texas Instruments (TXN.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) to number four, iSuppli said.

Total semiconductor revenues are expected to reach $271 billion, up 4.1 percent from 2006. In September, iSuppli had said it expected the market to grow by 3.5 percent.

"Amid slowing growth for semiconductor sales, companies that have superior execution or that have been better able to capitalize on industry trends or events outperformed the market," the research firm said in a statement late on Tuesday.

"Intel successfully defended much of the market share that it won from AMD in the first quarter in the PC microprocessor segment due to the success of its lines of dual- and quad-core chips," said iSuppli's head of market intelligence, Dale Ford.

Sony (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is seen leaping into eighth place from 14th in 2006 with a 57 percent increase in revenue, thanks to sales of chips for its PlayStation 3 games console. Toshiba's higher revenues are also seen partly due to PlayStation 3 chip sales.

Infineon (IFXGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) was expected to benefit from a booming market in mobile phones to rise to 10th place from 15th, thanks to its own strengthening wireless business.

(Reporting by Georgina Prodhan, Editing by Rory Channing)