Seoul: SK hynix Inc. announced on Thursday that its net profit for the first quarter has more than quadrupled due to the rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) chips, including high bandwidth memory (HBM), surpassing market expectations. The company, which is the world's second-largest memory chipmaker, reported a net income of 8.1 trillion won (US$5.7 billion) for the January-March period, a significant increase from 1.92 trillion won a year earlier.
According to Yonhap News Agency, SK hynix's operating income jumped 157.8 percent year-on-year to 7.44 trillion won for the quarter, compared to 2.88 trillion won the previous year. Revenue also saw a substantial increase, rising 41.9 percent to 17.63 trillion won. These figures represent the second-best quarterly results for both operating profit and sales, following record highs in the fourth quarter of last year.
The company's earnings exceeded market expectations, with analysts' average estimate of net profit standing at 5.48 trillion won, based on a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency. SK hynix credited the better-than-expected financial performance to the strong demand for AI memory, reinforcing its position as a global leader in high bandwidth memory (HBM) technology.
"The memory market ramped up faster than expected due to competition to develop AI systems and inventory accumulation demand," SK hynix commented, highlighting the driving forces behind their impressive quarterly performance.