[Edaily Reporter Choi Oh-hyun ] SK hynix posted record-breaking earnings for the second quarter of this year. However, despite the boom in the artificial intelligence (AI) memory market, the growth in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) sales and the improvement in profitability appear to have fallen short of the market’s high expectations.

SK hynix announced on the 29th that, on a consolidated basis, it recorded revenue of 79.3187 trillion won, operating profit of 60.5426 trillion won, and an operating profit margin of 76.3% for the second quarter of this year. Net income stood at 93.9226 trillion won, representing a net profit margin of 118%. Compared to the same period last year, revenue increased by 257% and operating profit by 557%.

However, compared to the market consensus compiled by financial information provider FnGuide Inc. (83.9391 trillion won in revenue and 63.9868 trillion won in operating profit), revenue fell short by approximately 4.6204 trillion won, and operating profit by about 3.4442 trillion won.

Although the results fell short of market expectations, the performance itself remains at an all-time high. SK hynix set a new record for quarterly earnings, following its first-quarter performance, and its operating profit also exceeded last year’s full-year operating profit (47.2 trillion won). With cumulative revenue for the first half of the year reaching the 100 trillion won mark, cumulative operating profit totaled 98.1529 trillion won, continuing to benefit from the AI memory boom. The operating profit margin also rose by 61 percentage points compared to the previous quarter.

SK hynix explained, “Both DRAM and NAND flash (hereinafter ‘NAND’) recorded significant price increases, continuing the trend from the previous quarter,” adding, “We achieved record profitability by increasing sales of high-value-added products such as HBM, AI server DRAM, and eSSDs.”

Driven by these strong results, the company’s cash and cash equivalents at the end of the second quarter reached 88 trillion won, an increase of 33.6 trillion won from the end of the previous quarter. Meanwhile, debt decreased by 700 billion won to 18.6 trillion won, expanding net cash to 69.4 trillion won. The company assessed that its financial strength has been significantly bolstered by its record-high profits and cash generation capabilities.

Meanwhile, INICS Corporation stated that it has been receiving a steady stream of additional supply requests from global AI tech giants. Based on this demand, the company has finalized negotiations for Long-Term Agreements (LTAs) with about 10 customers and is continuing discussions with other major industry clients.