'Memory Boom' SK Hynix Recovers Quarterly Sales Over 10 Trillion Won After More Than 3 Years

[Asia Economy Reporter Suyeon Woo] SK Hynix achieved quarterly sales exceeding 10 trillion won in the second quarter of this year, supported by an improvement in the memory semiconductor market conditions. This is the first time in 2 years and 9 months since the third quarter of 2018, when the company previously enjoyed a long-term boom in memory semiconductors, that quarterly sales surpassed 10 trillion won.

On the 27th, SK Hynix announced that it recorded sales of 10.3217 trillion won and an operating profit of 2.6946 trillion won in the second quarter of this year. These figures represent increases of 19.9% and 38.3%, respectively, compared to the same period last year.

In particular, the company explained that a significant increase in demand for PC, graphics, and consumer memory, as well as a recovery in demand for server memory, led to the improved performance. Additionally, the popularity of advanced process products such as 10-nanometer-class 2nd generation (1y) and 3rd generation (1z) DRAM, and 128-layer NAND flash also contributed to enhanced cost competitiveness.

SK Hynix expects demand to continue growing in the second half of this year and anticipates that the memory semiconductor market will maintain a positive trend due to the seasonal peak. In particular, in NAND flash, the company plans to launch new mobile products equipped with high capacity and expects corporate SSD demand to increase further.

In the second half of this year, SK Hynix plans to focus on maintaining technological competitiveness in DRAM and improving profitability in NAND flash. First, the company will increase sales of high-capacity server DRAMs of 64GB (gigabytes) or more. It will also supply the market with 10-nanometer-class 4th generation (1a) DRAM, which has started mass production using EUV (extreme ultraviolet) lithography equipment, and plans to mass-produce DDR5 in the second half of the year.

For NAND flash, SK Hynix will expand sales of mobile solutions based on 128-layer technology and enterprise SSD products, aiming to return to profitability in the third quarter and start mass production of 176-layer products from the end of the year. Alongside this, SK Hynix also announced the achievements of its ESG (environment, social, governance) management activities. Recognized for its climate change response and water resource management capabilities, SK Hynix has maintained its Hall of Fame status for eight consecutive years in the 'Carbon Management' category from the CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) Korea Committee.

No Jong-won, Vice President (CFO) of SK Hynix, said, "We will do our best not only to improve performance but also to strengthen ESG management and communication to achieve sustainable growth."