SK Hynix Earnings Outlook Soars Amid DRAM Price Increase

[Asia Economy Reporter Suyeon Woo] As prices for server and PC DRAM show signs of increase, SK Hynix's earnings outlook is also significantly improving. Securities firms predict that SK Hynix's operating profit will recover to the 1 trillion won level again in the first quarter of this year.

According to FnGuide on the 7th, the consensus for SK Hynix's operating profit in the first quarter of this year is 1.2102 trillion won, expected to increase by 51.2% compared to the previous year. Sales are projected to rise 10% to 7.9208 trillion won, and net profit is also expected to increase by 54% to 1.0018 trillion won.

Within the industry, the rise in fixed transaction prices for DRAM is accelerating much faster than expected, which is anticipated to have a positive impact on SK Hynix's outlook.

According to market research firm DRAMeXchange, the average fixed transaction price for 32Gb server DRAM in February was $119, up 3.48% from the previous month. Industry sources report that the price of this server DRAM has already surpassed the $140 level in the spot market.

Market research firm TrendForce forecasts that server DRAM prices will increase by up to 8% in the first quarter of this year, and the second-quarter forecast has been revised upward from an 8-13% increase to a 10-15% increase. The industry expects that from March, as North American data center companies increase new server expansions, server DRAM prices in the second quarter could rise by 20%, and by up to 40% over the course of this year.

For PC DRAM, the average fixed transaction price for 8Gb DRAM in February remained at $3, the same as the previous month, but in the spot market, it is trading at up to $4.65.

DRAM Spot Market Price / Source=DRAMeXchange

Song Myungseop, a researcher at Hi Investment & Securities, said, "Currently, the market shows relatively stronger demand and larger price increases for computing DRAM and LPDDR4-based MCPs," adding, "SK Hynix holds advantages over competitors in terms of product mix and operational management."

Kim Dongwon, a researcher at KB Securities, also analyzed, "Currently, the DRAM market is seeing memory inventories of set and distribution companies hitting bottom, while demand from Bitcoin mining, PC, and mobile remains strong, and cloud demand from North American data center companies is significantly increasing," and predicted, "SK Hynix, with a higher proportion of server memory sales compared to competitors, is expected to be the biggest beneficiary."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.