– Technical prowess, competitive products help expand revenues, narrow operating losses
– DRAM turns around from two quarters of losses, helped by brisk sales of premium products
– “Company to open up new markets with advanced technology as key player of future AI infrastructure”
SEOUL, South Korea, Oct. 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — SK hynix Inc. (or “the company”, www.skhynix.com) today reported the financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2023. The company recorded revenues of 9.066 trillion won, operating losses of 1.792 trillion won and net losses of 2.185 trillion won in the three-month period. The operating and net margins were a negative 20% and 24%, respectively.
After bottoming out in the first quarter, the business has been on a steady recovery track, helped by growing demand for products such as high-performance memory chips, the company said.
“Revenues grew 24%, while operating losses narrowed 38%, compared with the previous quarter, thanks to strong demand for high-performance mobile flagship products and HBM3, a key product for AI applications, and high-capacity DDR5,” the company said, adding that a turnaround of the DRAM business following two quarters of losses is particularly hopeful.
SK hynix attributed the growth in sales to increased shipments of both DRAM and NAND and a rise in the average selling price.
By products, shipments of DRAM increased 20% from the three months earlier, thanks to strong sales of high-performance products for server applications such as the AI with the average selling price also recording a 10% rise. Shipments of NAND also rose with high-capacity mobile products and solid state drive products taking the lead.
Following a turnaround, an improvement in the DRAM business is forecast to gain speed, backed by popularity of the generative AI technology, while there are looming signs of a steady recovery in the NAND space as well.
With the effect of the production reduction by global memory providers starting to be seen and customers, following efforts to reduce inventories, placing new orders now, semiconductor prices are starting to stabilize, the company said.
To meet new demands, SK hynix plans to increase investments in high-value flagship products such as HBM, DDR5, and LPDDR5. The company will increase the share of the products manufactured from the 1anm and 1bnm, the fourth and the fifth generations of the 10nm process, respectively, while increasing investments in HBM and TSV*.
* TSV (Through Silicon Via): An interconnecting technology used in advanced packaging that links the upper and lower chips with electrode that vertically passes through thousands of fine holes on DRAM chips.
Kim Woohyun, the chief financial officer at SK hynix, said that the company has been consolidating its position as the key player in the future AI infrastructure with its leadership in the high-performance memory market.
“Our strong position as the world’s key provider of the products such as HBM and DDR5 will help us discover new markets differentiated from the past,” Kim said. “We will work toward strengthening our position as the world’s best provider of the high-performance, premium memory products.”
3Q23 Financial Results (K-IFRS)
Unit: Billion KRW
3Q23
2Q23
QoQ
3Q22
YoY
Revenue
9,066.2
7,305.9
24 %
10,982.9
-17 %
Operating Profit
-1,792
-2,882.1
38 %
1,660.5
(turn to loss)
Operating Profit Margin
-20 %
-39 %
19%P
15 %
-35%P
Net Income
-2,184.7
-2,987.9
27 %
1,107.6
(turn to loss)
※ Financial information of the earnings is based on K-IFRS
※ Please note that the financial results discussed herein are preliminary and speak only as of September 30, 2023. Readers should not assume that this information remains operative at a later time.
About SK hynix Inc.
SK hynix Inc., headquartered in Korea, is the world’s top tier semiconductor supplier offering Dynamic Random Access Memory chips (“DRAM”), flash memory chips (“NAND flash”) and CMOS Image Sensors (“CIS”) for a wide range of distinguished customers globally. The Company’s shares are traded on the Korea Exchange, and the Global Depository shares are listed on the Luxemburg Stock Exchange. Further information about SK hynix is available at www.skhynix.com, news.skhynix.com.