Computer chip maker Elpida Memory Inc. slashed its earnings forecasts for the October-December quarter Friday, blaming a faster-than-expected slide in memory-chip prices.
Japan's only maker of dynamic random access memory, or DRAM, chips now projects a 160 million yen group net profit for the third fiscal quarter, down sharply from a profit range it gave previously of 1 billion yen to 4 billion yen.
Elpida, a joint venture between electronics companies NEC Corp. and Hitachi Ltd., expects group sales of 59 billion yen for the quarter ended in December, compared with its earlier forecast of 58 billion yen to 63 billion yen.
Tokyo-based Elpida announces its third-quarter results Jan. 24.