SK Hynix and Planet Earn 277 Billion KRW in Dividends
Accelerating New Investments in Semiconductor Value Chain and Next Platforms
[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] SK Square, which was spun off and launched from SK Telecom last November, announced on the 16th that it recorded consolidated sales of 1.3211 trillion KRW and operating profit of 380.2 billion KRW for the first quarter. The consolidated results reflected the performance of portfolio companies and equity-method valuation gains and losses.
The separate financial statements for the first quarter included dividend income of 277 billion KRW from subsidiaries such as SK Hynix and SK Planet. The dividend income consisted of SK Hynix's annual dividend of 225 billion KRW for 2021 and a dividend of 50 billion KRW from SK Planet’s sale of SK M&S Service.
SK Square is in a position to expect quarterly dividend income of 300 KRW per share and additional separate dividends from SK Hynix, which has strengthened its shareholder return policy this year. SK Hynix announced that starting this year, it will raise the fixed dividend per share from 1,000 KRW to 1,200 KRW, maintain a policy of distributing an additional 5% of free cash flow as dividends, and implement quarterly dividends.
Transformed into an investment specialist company, SK Square continued investing in the first quarter, expanding its scale. Over six months since its launch, SK Square invested a total of 155.3 billion KRW in four companies belonging to the next platform sector, which leads future ICT innovations such as blockchain and metaverse (extended virtual world). The investment targets were the virtual asset exchange Korbit (87.3 billion KRW), 3D digital human production company Onmind (8 billion KRW), Korea’s largest agricultural innovation company Greenlabs (35 billion KRW), and global game company Haegin (25 billion KRW). The investment portfolio increased from 16 to 20 companies before the launch.
SK Square plans to accelerate new investments in the semiconductor value chain and next platform to increase corporate value and achieve mid- to long-term financial performance. It has secured investment funds exceeding 2 trillion KRW over the next three years and plans to jointly raise investment capital with domestic and foreign investors.
Efforts to enhance the value of the existing portfolio will also continue. Based on domestic and international partnerships, SK Square plans to pursue business alliances and conduct 'bolt-on investments' by acquiring other companies with high business relevance. A representative example is SK Square’s subsidiary T Map Mobility’s acquisition of two airport bus companies for about 197.9 billion KRW in March to strengthen its mobility business.
Shareholder return policies will also be strengthened. From 2023, when shareholder returns become legally possible, SK Square is reviewing ways to maximize shareholder value through share buybacks, cancellations, or special dividends upon realizing investment gains.
Yoon Poong-young, Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of SK Square, said, “Since its launch, SK Square has executed new investments faster than other investment companies,” and added, “We will accelerate investments in the global semiconductor value chain and next platform sectors that will lead the Web 3.0 era this year to enhance shareholder value.”
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