SK Hynix to review Capex as memory demand may slow

SK Hynix has reported revenues of 13.81 trillion won, operating profit of 4.19 trillion won with operating margin of 30 percent, and net income of 2.88 trillion with net income margin 21 percent in the second quarter of 2022.
SK Hynix chip investment in NAND
The company achieved record high quarterly sales along with operating profits over 4 trillion won.

This is the first time that SK Hynix has posted revenues over 13 trillion won in a single quarter. Previously, the company’s highest quarterly revenues were 12.38 trillion won, recorded in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Though DRAM product prices fell during the second quarter, revenues increased as NAND prices rose and overall sales volume increased. SK Hynix said rise of the US dollar and the addition of Solidigm’s sales also worked as positive factors for the quarterly revenue.

Operating profit over 4 trillion won and operating profit margin of 30 percent is due the yield rate of the flagship products, the 1anm DRAM and 176-layer 4D NAND.

SK Hynix predicted that memory demand would slow in the second half because shipments of PCs and smartphones that contain memory are expected to become lower. The demand for server memory supplied to data center customers is likely to slow as customers will consume their inventories preferentially. SK Hynix expects that the memory demand for data centers will grow steadily in mid- to long-term.

SK Hynix stated that it would review next year’s investment plan while monitoring product inventory levels in the second half of the year.

“We will focus on increasing fundamental business competitiveness while flexibly adapting to changes in the business environment,” said Kevin (Jongwon) Noh, president & chief marketing officer (CMO) at SK Hynix.