SK hynix recorded an operating profit of 7.44 trillion won in the first quarter of this year (January to March), an increase of 157.8% compared to the same period last year. Amid strong demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) used in artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors such as Nvidia, there has been a noticeable move to stockpile memory semiconductors in large quantities ahead of concerns regarding U.S. tariffs, which has been analyzed as contributing to the results.
On the 24th, SK hynix disclosed that it recorded sales of 17.6391 trillion won and operating profit of 7.4405 trillion won in the first quarter of this year. Compared to the same period last year, sales increased by 41.9%, and operating profit rose by 157.8%. The operating profit consensus initially projected by the securities industry (6.5929 trillion won) was exceeded by 12.85%. Bolstered by these results, the company's cash and cash equivalents amounted to 14.3 trillion won as of the end of the first quarter, an increase of 200 billion won compared to the end of last year. The ratios of borrowing funds and net borrowing funds improved to 29% and 11%, respectively.
An official from SK hynix noted, "The first quarter showed signs of the memory market improving faster than expected as the AI development competition and inventory accumulation demands intersected," adding, "Accordingly, we expanded sales of high-value-added products such as HBM3E 12-layer and DDR5." He also remarked, "Even if the market situation enters a correction phase in the future, we will focus more on improving our business structure to achieve differentiated performance."
SK hynix stated that the expansion of global uncertainties is increasing volatility in demand forecasts, and it has decided to strengthen collaboration within its supply chain to meet customer demands despite these environmental changes. The company projected that HBM demand would continue to grow about twofold compared to the previous year due to the nature of the products, which involve agreeing on supply volumes with customers a year in advance. Consequently, it smoothly expanded its sales of HBM3E 12-layer, forecasting that the revenue share of this product will exceed half of HBM3E's total revenue in the second quarter.
SK hynix announced that it began supplying LPCAMM2, a high-performance memory module for AI PCs, to some PC customers starting in the first quarter of this year, and it plans to work closely with customers to push for the supply of SOCAMM, a low-power DRAM module for AI servers, when demand becomes more pronounced. LPCAMM is a module solution product based on low-power DRAM LPDDR5X, which provides space savings while replacing two existing DDR5 SODIMMs with one LPCAMM2, achieving low power consumption and high performance. SOCAMM is a memory module specialized for AI servers based on low-power DRAM.
Kim Woo-hyun, vice president (CFO) of SK hynix, stated that the company will further enhance investment efficiency centered on products with high demand visibility and secured profitability while adhering to the 'principle of facility investment.' He added, "We will strengthen collaboration with partners and break through technological limits to strive for continuous profit generation based on industry-leading competitiveness."