TAKING THE PULSE: Asia's makers of dynamic random access memory chips are likely to report a big improvement in their financial results for quarter ended Sept. 30 on back of higher chip prices supported by solid electronics demand.

Analysts are optimistic about the outlook for the DRAM industry moving forward with the upcoming holiday shopping season and the launch of Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) Windows 7 operating system later this month supporting chip demand.

DRAM chips are most widely used in personal computers.

"DRAM prices have been steadily rising more than expected since July," said Haruo Sato, an analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Center Co. "The market should gain more momentum from strong consumer spending in emerging markets towards the year-end."

 
   COMPANIES TO WATCH: 
 
   Nanya Technology Corp. (2408.TW) - (Oct. 21)

Market Expectations: Taiwan's largest DRAM maker by revenue likely posted a net loss of NT$3.79 billion for the three months ended Sept. 30, according to a Dow Jones Newswires survey of six analysts. That would be narrower than a net loss of NT$8.77 billion a year earlier and the company's tenth consecutive quarterly net loss.

Revenue for the three months ended Sept. 30 rose slightly to NT$11.51 billion from NT$11.50 billion a year earlier, according to the company's monthly filings.

Key Issues: Investors will want to know the latest progress of Nanya's technology migration. Nanya said in August it would start pilot run of more advanced 50-nanometer chip production.

 
   Hynix Semiconductor Inc. (000660.SE) - (Oct. 23)

Market Expectations: The world's second-largest DRAM maker by sales after Samsung Electronics Co., likely swung to a net profit of KRW352.9 billion for the three months ended Sept. 30, according to the average forecast of seven analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires. It would be the first quarterly net profit for Hynix after posting losses for seven consecutive quarters and would also be a sharp reversal from a net loss of KRW1.67 trillion a year earlier. Revenue likely rose 14% to KRW2.09 trillion from KRW1.84 trillion a year earlier, while operating profit is expected at KRW252.6 billion, reversing from an operating loss of KRW465 billion a year earlier.

Key Issues: Hynix may tell investors how much it has earmarked for its 2010 capital expenditure budget after its chief executive recently said the chipmaker's capital spending will be larger than this year's KRW1 trillion. The company may also touch on details of creditors' progress of a planned stake sale to Hyosung Corp. (004800.SE), which solely submitted late September to buy a major stake in the chipmaker.

 
   Samsung Electronics Co. (005930.SE) - (Oct.30)

Market Expectations: Samsung, the world's biggest DRAM maker by revenue, will likely post a net profit of KRW3.37 trillion for the three months ended Sept. 30, nearly tripling from KRW1.22 trillion a year earlier, according to the average forecast of nine analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires. Consolidated sales likely rose 20% to KRW36.44 trillion from KRW30.27 trillion a year earlier, while operating profit likely more than doubled to KRW3.84 trillion from KRW1.48 trillion a year earlier.

Samsung said earlier this month that it estimates third-quarter consolidated sales at between KRW35 trillion and KRW37 trillion, while its operating profit is estimated at between KRW3.9 trillion and KRW4.3 trillion. Analysts expect the company to see around KRW1 trillion in operating profit from its semiconductor business in the third quarter and also expect Samsung's DRAM business to have returned to the black in the third quarter after remaining in the red for the past several quarters. In addition to memory chips, Samsung also makes cellphones and liquid crystal display televisions.

Key Issues: Samsung may give its 2010 investment plan for its memory-chip division after the company said its investment in semiconductors for next year will be larger than that of this year.

 
   Elpida Memory Inc. (6665.TO) - (Nov.5)

Market Expectations: Japan's exclusive DRAM maker likely more than halved its net loss to Y14.37 billion for the July-September quarter from Y31.87 billion a year earlier, according to a poll of 11 analysts by Thomson Reuters. Revenue likely fell to Y93.71 billion from Y113.58 billion. Analysts said Elpida likely was able to post a narrower net loss due to its cost-cutting efforts.

Elpida last week said it expects to have lost Y8 billion on a net basis in the July-September quarter, gaining support from higher chip prices and technological improvement for shrinking chip sizes to raise production efficiency. The company also said it likely generated Y96 billion in revenue in the three months ended Sept. 30, compared with Y72.6 billion in the April-June quarter.

Key Issues: Investors are paying attention to how Elpida will team up with Taiwanese chip makers by planning to raise funds from government-backed Taiwan Memory Co.

 
   Powerchip Semiconductor Corp. (5346.OT) - (By Oct. 31)

Market Expectations: Taiwan's second-largest DRAM maker by revenue after Nanya Technology likely posted a net loss of NT$6.84 billion for the third quarter, narrowing significantly from a net loss of NT$15.02 billion a year earlier, according to a Dow Jones Newswires survey of six analysts. That would be the company's tenth straight quarterly net loss. Powerchip's second-quarter revenue fell 50.4% to NT$7.43 billion from NT$14.97 billion a year earlier, according to the company's monthly sales reports.

Key Issues: Powerchip's finances remain a key concern among investors. If the chip maker cannot raise funds on its own, it is expected to continue selling its stake in joint venture Rexchip Electronics Corp. But given improving demand, another focus is Powerchip's capacity restoration plan after previous production cuts.

 
   -By Yuzo Yamaguchi, Dow Jones Newswires, +813 6895 7563; yuzo.yamaguchi@dowjones.com

(Jung-Ah Lee in Seoul and Jessie Ho in Taipei contributed to this article.)