Samsung May Cut Spending Due to Apple Row

Caris & Co. says Samsung growth outlook could be impacted.

Caris & Co.

Unofficial reports are indicating Samsung Electronics could be reducing 2013 capital spending by half. The reports were published in the Kyunghyang Shinmun, a Korean news source.

If true, the cuts would represent about $6.5 billion based on the capital-spending budget for 2012 of $12.5 billion-$13.4 billion. This would be a significant gap to fill and would likely cause capital spending in 2013 to be down double digits. Although expectations for 2013 capital spending are low, we think the rumors will weigh heavily on the group and no equipment companies in our space would be immune. We still think strong demand for mobility products during the Holiday season could drive overall foundry capital spending higher in 2013.

Samsung has overbuilt for both DRAM and NAND flash segments and we had already been expecting reductions. However, the cuts could also indicate that the friction in the relationship with Apple (ticker: AAPL) could be impacting Samsung's growth outlook for both foundry and NAND flash manufacturing.

We think strong demand for mobility products during the Holiday season could lead to stronger foundry spending. There have been news reports that already indicate Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) could increase capital spending by $2 billion in 2013. We think Taiwan Semi's spending could ramp to even higher levels if they gain a meaningful share of Apple's business. We estimate that foundry spending could account for 45% of capital spending in 2012 and could approach 50% in 2013.

DRAM and NAND are not likely to rebound unless [ Intel (INTC)-defined] Ultrabooks gain momentum. Although the demand for Ultrabooks has been weak, lower pricing and the coming launch of [ Microsoft (MSFT)] Windows 8 should be demand catalysts in 2013. We estimate DRAM and NAND spending should account for 28% of spending in 2012 but will likely fall below 25% in 2013.

-- Ben Pang

MarketWatch：三星擬將明年半導體投資規模縮減近一半

《MarketWatch》周三（19日）報導，三星電子（Samsung Electronics）（005930-KR）計畫將明年半導體投資規模縮減近一半，因市場需求不振且價格持續下滑。

報導引述南韓當地媒體《漢城新聞（Kyunghyang Shinmun）》指出，三星高階主管表示，「市場狀況不佳而且公司今年已投入相當高的投資」。

，
據悉，今年三星對半導體業務的投資金額約有 14- 15 兆韓元（125- 134 億美元）。

三星今年 7 月公佈第 2 季財報時表示，上半年資本支出為 14 兆韓元，其中半導體事業約佔 9.7 兆韓元。

台北時間周三上午 10:30，三星股價下滑 0.61% 暫報 130.7 萬韓元。

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2012年9月20日