Analysts predict increased chunk of chip sales

Intel will see its market share of total global semiconductor sales increase to 12.2 per cent this year, according to Gartner.

The analyst firm attributed the increased sales to continued demand for laptop chips, helping Intel boost overall market share from 11.6 per cent last year.

Gartner said that Intel enjoyed revenue growth of twice the market average during 2007. Global sales will total $270.3bn, up 2.9 per cent on last year.

2007 will also prove a stellar year for Toshiba which will see increased revenues of 28 per cent, well ahead of Texas Instruments, STMicroelectronics and Infineon.

"Semiconductor vendors need to watch the performance of their end customers even closer as a major part of the industry becomes increasingly tied to consumer spending patterns," said Andrew Norwood, research vice president at Gartner.