Renesas denies flash memory exit

The announcement came in response to a report here on Thursday (Dec. 8) by Nikkei Shimbun stating that Renesas would withdraw from the flash memory business. A Renesas spokeswoman denied the report, but admitted that it will no longer develop the 8-Gbit memory or higher-density memories.

Renesas began volume production of 4-Gbit memory in April. It will continue to supply current flash memory products from 256-Mbits to 4-Gbits.

Renesas reported a ¥2 billion (about $17 million) loss in the first half of this fiscal year last month and its loss for the year is expected to be more than twice that total.

Renesas announced a restructuring plan that includes a growth strategy. It plans to target its design and development resources on microcontrollers and LCD drivers and SoC devices.

"Renesas has no intention to position the memory business as one of its mainstay businesses," said Satoru Ito, president and CEO said recently. The memory business has been a loss leader for the chip maker.

"We will strengthen the collaboration with a partner for flash memory," he added. Renesas contracted with Taiwan’s Power Chip Semiconductor for flash memory production. The contract covers up to 1-Gbit parts, but Renesas is considering extending the contract to include 4-Gbit devices, according to a spokesman.