SK Square Achieves Record Quarterly Operating Profit of 8.28 Trillion Won in Q1 Thanks to SK hynix

Kim Joungkyu: "Preparing New Investments in AI and Semiconductors"

SK Square announced on May 14 that its consolidated operating profit for the first quarter of this year reached 8.2783 trillion won, marking the highest quarterly performance in its history. First-quarter revenue was 300.3 billion won, and net profit was 8.3747 trillion won.

Operating profit and net profit increased by 400% and 419%, respectively, compared to the same period last year, driven by equity method gains from SK hynix and improved profitability of portfolio companies.

SK Square, which holds a 20.5% stake in SK hynix, benefited from SK hynix's strong performance, as SK hynix recorded an operating profit of 37.6103 trillion won in the first quarter of this year.

As of the previous day's closing price, SK Square's market capitalization stood at approximately 157 trillion won, ranking third in KOSPI market capitalization. This represents a nearly 15-fold increase from early January last year (10.6 trillion won) and almost a threefold increase from early January this year (51.8 trillion won).

The 'Net Asset Value (NAV) discount rate,' a key indicator for enhancing corporate value, is also showing continued improvement. The NAV discount rate reflects the gap between the asset value held by a holding company and its actual market capitalization. As of May 13, SK Square's discount rate was 46.6%, a significant improvement compared to the end of 2024 (65.7%) and the end of 2025 (51.5%).

The Return on Equity (ROE) and Price-to-Book Ratio (PBR) have also exceeded their targets. As of May 13, the PBR had risen to approximately 4.3 times, and the ROE stood at 55.1% as of the end of March this year, significantly surpassing the Cost of Equity (COE), which ranges from 15% to 20%.

The company is also continuing its shareholder return initiatives. SK Square plans to execute a total of 310 billion won in shareholder returns from this year to early next year. Last year, it conducted a share buyback worth 200 billion won, and this year, it plans to further expand the scale of shareholder returns.

SK Square intends to pursue new investments and portfolio rebalancing, focusing on artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductors going forward.

Kim Jeonggyu, CEO of SK Square, stated, "Throughout this year, we will further engage with shareholders and focus on enhancing corporate value," adding, "We will innovate work processes with AI and prepare for new investments in AI and semiconductors."

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