Major semiconductor memory manufacturer, South Korea SK Hynix announced on the 25th that it expects a full recovery in the memory market. Driven by demand for artificial intelligence (AI), sales in the first quarter (January-March) more than doubled, marking the highest rate of increase since at least 2010.
Sales for the January-March period announced on the same day were 12.4 trillion won (approximately 1.4 trillion yen), exceeding market expectations. In addition, operating profit was 2.89 trillion won, significantly exceeding market expectations (1.8 trillion won). This is the second largest operating profit for the January-March period on record.
SK Hynix More Than Doubled Sales in First Quarter of 2024
Sales and profit jump were driven by intensive demand for AI memory
Source: Company filing
SK Hynix points out that the memory market as a whole is on a steady growth path and has entered a recovery phase. Regarding this year’s capital investment, it is expected to be “slightly” higher than planned. The company also explained that it plans to increase the supply of its cutting-edge chip “HBM3E” and strengthen customer acquisition.
“This is a clear turnaround for SK Hynix and the start of a record year,” said Tom Kang, director of Counterpoint Research, adding that this year’s sales will reach approximately 61 trillion won and the profit margin will increase. He said he expects the increase to exceed 20%. He also said that SK Hynix’s HBM (wideband memory) production capacity is full for this year, and a new factory is needed to meet demand.
SK Hynix invests 2.3 trillion yen in new semiconductor factory – due to strong demand for AI
Original title: SK Hynix Sees Full Recovery in Memory After AI Powers Sale Surge (excerpt)
(Add and update information)
Tags: Hynix expects full recovery memory market boom Bloomberg
