SK hynix is poised to report its highest-ever quarterly operating profit of more than 10 trillion won ($7 billion) this year, driven by booming demand for advanced AI memory chips amid the ongoing semiconductor supercycle.
It would mark only the second time a Korean company achieved a quarterly operating profit exceeding 10 trillion won. The milestone would also cap a 14-year journey for SK Group Chair Chey Tae-won, who led the group's acquisition of the then-struggling Hynix Semiconductors in 2012.
According to a market consensus compiled by Yonhap Infomax on Sunday, the world’s leading memory chip-maker is estimated to have logged sales of 24.4 trillion won and an operating profit of 11.3 trillion won in the July-September period. If confirmed, both figures would surpass the company’s previous record of 22.2 trillion won in revenue and 9.2 trillion won in operating profit set in the second quarter.
Analysts attribute the stellar performance to soaring demand and rising prices for high-value memory products, including high bandwidth memory chips used in AI processors, and a rebound in DRAM prices.
"Increasing sales of 12-layer HBM3E, which takes more than half of SK hynix's total HBM sales, and favorable pricing of general-purpose memory chips will boost the chipmaker's performance in the third quarter," said Lee Se-chul, an analyst at Citi Global Markets.
The latest AI boom’s knock-on benefits are also spilling over to legacy DRAM and NAND products, and are expected to support the growth of SK hynix’s NAND flash memory solutions affiliate.
“SK hynix affiliate Solidigm is expected to exceed market expectations on robust sales of Quadruple Level Cell Enterprise Solid State Drive for AI-driven data storage,” said Chae Min-sook, a researcher at Korea Investment & Securities.
Nicolas Gaudois, head of Asia-Pacific technology research at UBS, said the company would further benefit from its flagship HBM chips, with OpenAI projected to increase HBM consumption by as much as 10 percent through 2027.
Earlier this month, OpenAI announced a landmark multi-year partnership with Advanced Micro Devices to deploy multiple generations of AMD Instinct GPUs for next-generation AI infrastructure, with total power capacity expected to reach 6 gigawatts -- signaling sustained momentum in the AI chip market.
In August, SK hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung said SK Group's bold investments and vision assisted the company in taking the lead in the HBM market.
"The company, which was on the verge of collapse, was able to develop the world's first HBM and take the top spot in the global DRAM market, thanks to SK Group," Noh said during the group's Icheon Forum, an annual meeting of executives and academics, on Aug. 18.
herim@heraldcorp.com
