Chip-maker SK hynix warns weak demand in 2nd half

Seoul, July 27

Chip-maker SK hynix Inc said on Wednesday that it logged record quarterly sales and the best second-quarter operating profits in four years, driven by the sales of NAND flash and positive currency effects.

The world's second-largest memory chip maker reported its second-quarter net income of $2.2 billion, up 44.7 per cent from a year earlier, despite unfavourable business conditions, like inflation, the Russia-Ukraine war and China's Covid-19 lockdowns.

Operating profit for the April-June period rose 55.6 percent on-year to 4.19 trillion won, the highest since 2018, the company said in a regulatory filing, reports Yonhap news agency.

Revenue rose 33.8 per cent to an all-time high of 13.81 trillion won.

The earnings beat market expectations. The average estimate of net profit by analysts was 2.83 trillion won.

SK hynix set up its US subsidiary Solidigm early this year following the completion of the first phase of Intel NAND and SSD business acquisition in December.

SK hynix cautioned, however, demand for semiconductors may subdue in the second half, especially for chips used in personal computers and smartphones.

Also both DRAM and NAND inventory levels have gone up by around one week, reflecting weaker demand.

Global memory chip makers have recently moved to moderate supply growth in light of a slowdown in global consumer tech companies' spending.

Seoul :This file photo, provided by SK hynix Inc. on Feb. 1, 2021, shows the company's new chip factory, M16, in Icheon, 52 kilometers southeast of Seoul.(Yonhap/IANS)