SK hynix Achieves Record Quarterly Results with Sales of 52.6 Trillion Won and Operating Profit of 37.6 Trillion Won

Operating Margin Reaches 72%
HBM and eSSD Sales Surge on Expanded AI Infrastructure

SK hynix has achieved its highest-ever quarterly performance, driven by surging demand for artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors. On April 23, SK hynix announced that it recorded sales of 52.5763 trillion won and operating profit of 37.6103 trillion won in the first quarter of this year.

Sales surpassed the 50 trillion won mark for the first time in a single quarter, and operating profit nearly doubled compared to the previous quarter (19.2 trillion won), reflecting a significant improvement in profitability. The operating margin also reached a record high of 72%, the highest since the company’s founding.

This strong performance has also greatly strengthened the company's financial health. At the end of the first quarter, cash and cash equivalents increased by 19.4 trillion won compared to the end of the previous quarter, totaling 54.3 trillion won. Meanwhile, borrowings decreased by 2.9 trillion won to 19.3 trillion won, resulting in 35 trillion won in net cash.

SK hynix explained, "Although the first quarter is typically a slow season, strong demand continued thanks to expanded investments in AI infrastructure. We boosted performance by increasing sales of high value-added products such as high bandwidth memory (HBM), high-capacity server DRAM modules, and eSSD. As AI evolves from the model learning stage to the real-time inference phase known as ‘Agentic AI’, memory demand is expanding across both DRAM and NAND."

SK hynix plans to respond to diversified memory demand by continuing new product development and supply across both DRAM and NAND. For HBM, the company will further strengthen its comprehensive execution capabilities, integrating performance, yield, quality, and supply stability. For DRAM, SK hynix will ramp up supply of the world’s first LPDDR6 using the sixth-generation (1c) 10nm-class process, as well as the 192GB SoCAM2, which began mass production this month using the same process.

For NAND, after commencing supply of the ‘PQC21’ solid-state drive (SSD) based on 321-layer quad-level cell (QLC) NAND flash, SK hynix will flexibly respond to AI demand by offering a lineup that covers high-performance triple-level cell (TLC) and large-capacity QLC across the entire eSSD range. In particular, leveraging synergies with Solidigm, known for its strength in large-capacity QLC eSSD, SK hynix plans to further enhance its competitiveness in the AI data center and AI PC storage markets.

SK hynix believes that customer demand currently exceeds supply capacity and is therefore moving to proactively expand its infrastructure. The investment scale for this year is expected to increase significantly from the previous year, driven by the ramp-up at the M15X facility in Cheongju, Chungbuk (to raise operating rates), infrastructure construction for the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster, and the acquisition of key equipment including extreme ultraviolet (EUV) tools.

SK hynix stated, "We will strategically secure a production base that can proactively respond to mid- to long-term demand growth. Through investments that consider demand visibility, we aim to ensure both supply stability and financial soundness."

Landscape of SK Hynix Icheon Campus. SK Hynix.

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