SK Hynix posts ‘best-ever’ quarterly profit

SEOUL: South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix posted record profits in the second quarter of the year, the company said on Tuesday, as strong demand for computer-server memory chips drove up prices.

The company’s net profit for the April to June period leapt 763 per cent from a year ago to 2.47 trillion won ($2.21 billion) while operating profit also jumped 574 per cent to 3.05 trillion won — both “best-ever” quarterly figures.

Shipments of DRAM chips used in PCs and computer servers rose three per cent from the previous quarter with chip prices up 11 per cent, thanks to strong demand from the server sector, the firm said in a statement.

Demand for NAND flash memory chips used in smartphones and other mobile devices slowed due to “sluggish demand growth in smartphones”, SK Hynix said, adding it expects performance to pick up in the latter half of the year.

“The launch of new smartphones using high capacity NAND flash memory chips will boost demand,” it said.

The firm’s overall sales jumped 70 per cent from a year ago to 6.69 trillion won, also a record-high.

Despite the strong figures, SK Hynix shares were down 1.2 per cent in early morning trade on the Seoul stock market.

The company is the world’s second-biggest maker of DRAM chips after Samsung Electronics. — AFP