Samsung Electronics is expected to solidify its leadership in global semiconductor sales this year, surpassing Intel for a second year in a row on the back of strong shipments of memory chips, while second DRAM maker SK Hynix beat Taiwanese foundry to become the world’s third biggest, according to industry tracker IC Insights’ 2018 sales forecast for the world`s top 15 semiconductor companies on Tuesday.

The South Korean chipmaker is projected to achieve combined sales of $83.25 billion this year, up 26 percent from last year versus an on-year 14 percent rise for Intel at $70.15 billion, IC Insight said.

The gap between Samsung and Intel this year, around $13 billion, is a sharp rise from $4 billion tallied last year. Intel lost the top spot to Samsung in the second quarter of 2017 after holding the position since 1993.

IC Insights, however, said Samsung became more dependent on memory chip business, as it is projected to represent 84 percent of the annual earnings, up 3 percentage points from a year ago. Moreover, the company`s memory and non-memory sales in 2018 are forecast to be up 31 percent and 6 percent, respectively.

Ranking at No. 3 on the list is SK Hynix is estimated to post sales of $37.73 billion this year, up a whopping 41 percent from a year earlier to mark the highest rise among 15 companies surveyed in the report. The company is very likely to beat Taiwanese semiconductor foundry TSMC.

By Lee Sang-duk and Minu Kim

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