Highest Turnovers Ever
SK Hynix is expected to set a new annual sales record this year. It is planning to expand its solid state drive (SSD) business during the rest of this year, based on the stable memory semiconductor supply and demand, to further improve the size and profitability of the business.
The company announced on July 24 that it posted 3.923 trillion won (US$3.820 billion) in sales, 1.084 trillion won (US$1.055 billion) in operating profits and 674 billion won (US$657 million) in net profits in the second quarter. The operating profits topped 1 trillion won (US$973 million) for a second consecutive quarter, and the half-yearly operating profits reached a new high.
The excellent performance can be attributed to a micro-fabrication process conversion and the recovery of the demand for mobile devices and ultra HD TVs. Although the DRAM price fell 5 percent from the preceding quarter, the shipment jumped by 13 percent from that previously planned, thanks to the expansion of 20 nanoscale fabrication techniques. Likewise, the average selling price of NAND flash dropped by 19 percent but the shipment increased approximately 54 percent.
SK Hynix is expecting that the stable supply and demand conditions will be maintained for the second half of this year, as the LTE market is growing rapidly in China and more and more consumers are seeking Ultra-HD TVs.
The company is also planning to increase its presence in the SSD NAND flash market, which is expanding quickly along with the big data market. “We will enter the enterprise SSD market in the near future, and the ratio of SSD to overall business will rise in earnest from the first half of 2015,” it explained.
In the meantime, SK Hynix’s debts totaled 4.151 trillion won (US$4.041 billion) as of the end of Q2, 613 billion won (US$597 million) less from a quarter earlier. The net borrowing decreased 556 billion to 1.07 trillion won (US$541 million to 1.04 billion) as well. The loan ratio was 28 percent and net borrowing ratio was 7 percent, six and five percentage points less quarter on quarter.