SK Hynix posts highest sales and income in 3 years
Company records 10.32 trillion won in sales, 2.69 trillion won in operating income
SK Hynix has performed strongly during the second quarter thanks to high demand for semiconductors.
The company’s sales and operating income for the quarter was its highest since 2018.
SK Hynix said on Tuesday that it posted 10.32 trillion won in sales, 2.69 trillion won in operating income and 1.98 trillion won in net income.
Sales and operating income jumped 20% and 38%, respectively, from the second quarter of 2020.
Its operating margin rate increased by 3 points to 26% in the second quarter this year. Net margin also reached 19%.
SK Hynix recorded over 10 trillion won for the last time 11 quarters ago in the third quarter of 2018.
The company’s operating income is also its highest since the fourth quarter of 2018.
SK Hynix said demand for memory from PC, graphics and consumer sectors increased substantially during the quarter.
Demand for server memory also recovered during the quarter which helped with the improve earnings, the company said.
Its Gen 2 and Gen 3 10-nanometer DRAMs and 128-layer NAND flash also sold well, SK Hynix said.
The company said it expects demand to continue through the second half of the year.
SK Hynix will focus on offering over 64GB server DRAM and Gen 4 10-nanometer DRAM, which are made using the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) process, going forward, the firm said.
Production of DDR5 will also start near the end of the year.
The NAND flash business is also expected to return to profitability in the third quarter, SK Hynix noted. The company said it will focus on solid state drives and mobile markets for NAND flashes going forward.
DRAM and NAND shipment in the third quarter are expected to increase by single digit and late-10%, respectively, from the second quarter, the company said.
In bit growth, SK Hynix expected early-20% for DRAM and mid- to late-30% for NAND flash for the entire year.
SK Hynix also stressed that there won’t be any problems with its production capacity this year. Its M16 fab in Icheon was larger than its other fabs and this will allow it to meet demand sustainably, the company added.