Powerchip Semiconductor, Taiwan's largest DRAM maker prior to the economic downturn, reported Friday a large drop in net losses in the third quarter, while rival ProMOS posted bigger losses as revenues remained weak. Powerchip's results were more representative of the industry as a whole, as DRAM prices recover from December 2008 lows and demand for chips, mostly for computers, picks up. The company reported a net loss of NT$4.766 billion in Q3, down 63.3 percent from the second quarter. Though it posted a bigger loss than rivals Nanya Technology and Inotera Memories, its loss per share of NT$0.53 was the lowest among local DRAM vendors. Powerchip's revenues rose 60.4 percent quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter to NT$7.428 billion, exceeding losses in a quarter for the first time this year. The company expected that Q4 results would improve further and could even see a profit if DRAM prices hold their current levels. In an earnings call earlier this month, Nanya's reported that its Q3 net loss had fallen 41 percent from the second quarter to NT$3.888 billion, or NT$1.51 per share. Inotera reported on Oct. 21 that its net loss fell 39 percent to NT$2.524 billion, or NT$0.73 per share, on revenues of NT$9.54 billion. The company said its revenues rose 28 percent quarter-on-quarter on higher average selling prices and lower idle capacity costs. Improving prices and market conditions have given a slight reprieve to Taiwan's debt-ridden DRAM industry, which overinvested in capacity when global demand was still strong and has had trouble filling it. The fragmented nature of the local DRAM sector has also made it harder for companies to develop or invest in competitive technologies, putting them at a disadvantage compared to larger Korean competitors and leading to speculation of market consolidation. Though the industry shows signs of recovery, ProMOS has benefited less than its rivals as its sales continued to be dwarfed by losses. The company on Friday reported a net loss of NT$6.82 billion in Q3, or NT$1.16 per share, nearly three times as high as the company's NT$1.73 billion net loss reported in Q2, though lower than the NT$9.4 billion net loss in Q1. ProMOS had a net loss of NT$17.96 billion in the first nine months of 2009, far exceeding net sales of NT$6.7 billion, and the gap only narrowed marginally in Q3. Taiwan's government tried to launch Taiwan Memory Company (now called Taiwan Innovation Memory) earlier this year to restructure the industry. It was to consolidate Powerchip, ProMOS, and Rexchip Electronics and incorporate technology from Japan-based Elpida Memory. But that venture's fate remains uncertain, as some question its need with the market picking up again. 