[News] Thanks to AI demand, SK hynix’s Q3 DRAM business turned profitable

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SK hynix 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.

(Image: SK hynix)