SK Hynix posts surprise Q2 earnings 

SK Hynix has posted 1.9467 trillion won in operating profits in the second quarter, a rise of 205% year over year, the company said on Thursday.

It beats South Korean analysts’ consensus of 1.7 trillion won.

The memory maker posted 8.6064 trillion won in sales, a rise of 33% from a year prior. Its net income was 1.2642 trillion won for the quarter, a net margin rate of 15%.

SK Hynix said despite the uncertainties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for server memories rose, leading to price rises. Yield rate increases of products and cost cutting efforts also helped, the firm said.

For DRAM, mobile customers showed continued lowered demand, but sales of memories for servers and graphics enjoyed high demand and prices. 

Compared to the previous quarter, shipment for DRAM rose 2% and average sales price increased 15%.

For NAND flash, those aimed at solid-state drive (SSD) continued to rise though out the quarter. For the time first time, SSD accounted for near 50% of SK Hynix’s NAND flash sales, the company said. Shipment rose 5% and average sales price 8% compared to the previous quarter.

Uncertainties remained for second half of the year but partial restart of economic activities in major countries and 5G smartphones will lead to demand improving, the company said.

SK Hynix will focus on profitability going forward. It will be conservative in investments and factory operations. It will bush 2nd generation 10-nanometer mobile DRAM to improve profitability. It will supply LPDDR5 at the right time for clients.

It will expand the sales of server memories with capacities higher than 64GB. It will begin production of 3rd generation 10-nanometer DRAM. For NAND Flash, it will meet demands from mobile and gaming console.