Latest news with #SKhynix
Korea Herald
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Korea Herald
Seoul shares open flat amid US tariff caution
South Korean stocks opened nearly unchanged Monday, despite strong gains by tech giant Samsung Electronics, as investors await a potential deal in high-stakes tariff talks with the United States, with just days remaining before the negotiation deadline. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 0.89 point, or 0.03 percent, to 3,196.94 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Last-minute negotiations are under way between Seoul and Washington to reach a deal on US President Donald Trump's administration's aggressive tariff scheme before the Aug. 1 deadline. Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol is likely to meet with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday after their talks, initially planned for the weekend alongside their industry ministers, were abruptly postponed due to a scheduling conflict on Bessent's part. Top-cap shares traded mixed. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics surged 2.58 percent after announcing it has signed a contract worth $16.5 billion won to supply semiconductors to a major global company. But chip giant SK hynix fell 1.5 percent. Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution soared 4.26 percent, and chemical giant LG Chem advanced 1.3 percent. Carmakers opened higher. Top automaker Hyundai Motor climbed 1.04 percent, and its sister affiliate Kia increased 0.86 percent. But defense giant Hanwha Aerospace shed 0.32 percent, and leading financial firm KB Financial sank 3.54 percent. Top online portal operator Naver lost 0.64 percent, and leading steelmaker POSCO dived 0.9 percent. The local currency was trading at 1,378.55 won against the greenback at 9:15 a.m., down 0.65 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)
Korea Herald
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Korea Herald
Seoul shares up for 3rd day amid US tariff uncertainties; won sharply down
Seoul shares closed slightly higher Friday, extending their winning streak to a third day, as investors kept a close eye on the ongoing tariff negotiations between South Korea and the United States, which is expected to have a huge impact on the economy. The Korean won lost ground against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 5.6 points, or 0.18 percent, to close at 3,196.05. Trade volume was moderate at 385.7 million shares worth 9.8 trillion won ($7.1 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 504 to 370. Foreigners and institutions bought shares worth 268.9 billion won and 110.4 billion won, respectively, while retail investors unloaded 461.3 billion won. Overnight, Wall Street closed mixed, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite and the S&P 500 up 0.18 percent and 0.07 percent, respectively, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.7 percent. Investors were paying close attention to whether Seoul will also strike a trade deal with Washington following Japan as Korea's top trade officials met with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in the US capital on Thursday (local time). In the meeting, the two sides reaffirmed their commitment to striking a trade deal before the Aug. 1 deadline and agreed to soon hold an additional round of negotiations, according to the Seoul government. "The market appears to have been relieved on news that Korea's industry minister and trade minister met with Lutnick, but the KOSPI showed limited growth due to persisting uncertainties ahead of the looming negotiation deadline," Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities, said. In Seoul, tech giant Samsung Electronics edged down 0.15 percent to 65,900 won, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix lost 1.3 percent to 266,000 won. Leading battery maker LG Energy Solution shed 1.22 percent, reflecting Tesla's 8.2 percent slide overnight. Bio shares also lost ground, with Samsung Biologics falling more than 2 percent to 1.06 million won and Celltrion down 1.33 percent to 178,000 won. Top automaker Hyundai Motor went down 0.46 percent to 216,500 won and its sister Kia retreated 0.86 percent to 104,100 won as they both posted a decrease in operating profits in the second quarter mainly due to the effects of 25 percent tariffs on all imported cars imposed by the Donald Trump administration. On the other hand, financial and shipbuilding shares delivered strong performances. KB Financial climbed 1.37 percent to 118,800 won and Shinhan Financial advanced 2.74 percent to 71,200 won. Major shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy soared 5.83 percent to 444,500 won, and its rival Hanwha Ocean gained 1.35 percent to 90,000 won on expectations for cooperation in the sector with the US Internet portal operator Naver also jumped 3.3 percent to 234,500 won, while Kakao Pay, the fintech arm of Kakao, shot up 10.71 percent on massive purchases by global investment bank Goldman Sachs. The local currency was quoted at 1,377.9 won against the US dollar at 3:30 p.m., down 10.7 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)
Time of India
6 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
SK hynix posts record profits on surging AI demand
Academy Empower your mind, elevate your skills South Korean chip giant SK hynix reported record quarterly profits Thursday thanks to soaring demand for artificial world's second-largest memory chip maker dominates the market for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) semiconductors and is a key supplier for US titan firm said operating profit climbed almost 70% to 9.2 trillion won ($6.7 billion) in the second quarter, with revenues coming in at 22.2 trillion won -- both all-time comes after Taiwan chip giant TSMC last week announced a surge in net profit for the second quarter, topping forecasts, thanks to robust demand for AI technology, despite the threat of US tariffs on the critical hynix also said net profit was up close to 70% on-year, at nearly seven trillion won."Aggressive investment by global big tech companies into AI led to a steady increase in demand for AI memory," it said in a of DRAM and NAND flash -- other types of computer memory -- topped forecasts, boosting the bottom line."SK hynix foresees that increasing competition among big tech companies to enhance inference of AI models would lead to higher demand for high-performance and high-capacity memory products," the company in the firm rose more than three percent in Seoul but pared gains to close up 0.2%."Nvidia suppliers like SK hynix will continue to enjoy strong demand in the coming months and years for memory chips due to the high memory content needed to make AI chips functional," G Dan Hutcheson of TechInsights told competition from rivals is its main risk factor, along with "saturation of the market as AI algorithms become more efficient as well as the uncertain impact of tariffs, the global trade war, and the resultant potential for a global recession", he Korea is a major exporter to the United States and its powerhouse semiconductor and auto industries would suffer greatly under President Donald Trump 's threatened 25% attribute SK hynix's resilience to its growth in the DRAM firm took the lead in DRAM revenues in April, with a 36% market share, according to research firm Counterpoint. That surpassed South Korean rival Samsung for the first time -- the first change in the top spot in more than four hynix said in a conference call that "the previous quarter began amid concerns over slowing demand due to trade tensions and broader economic uncertainty".But as the United States has been threatening restrictions on semiconductor sales to China, customers' preemptive purchases "to hedge against external risks" created a "more favourable environment" than expected, an SK hynix official company added that despite the geopolitical situations, its production situation saw "no change".
Korea Herald
6 days ago
- Business
- Korea Herald
SK hynix posts record quarterly profit on AI chip boom
Chipmaker eyes double HBM sales this year, with next-gen chips ready for Nvidia SK hynix, the world's top memory chip-maker by revenue, hit an all-time high quarterly operating profit of 9.2 trillion won ($6.73 billion) in the April-June period, thanks to soaring demand for its high bandwidth memory chips, a core component in AI processing. Reporting the second quarter's earnings, the company said it aims to double HBM sales and shipments this year compared to 2024, as well as increase its capital expenditure beyond its initial plans for rising HBM demand starting in 2026. The chipmaker reported that it has recorded 22.2 trillion won in sales in the second quarter, up 35.4 percent on-year. The operating profit also surged 68.5 percent over the same period, and net profit came in at 6.99 trillion won. Backed by strong earnings, SK hynix' cash holdings rose by 2.7 trillion won on-quarter to 17 trillion won. Its debt ratio stood at 25 percent, with net debt ratio at 6 percent, down 4.1 trillion won from the previous quarter. "We are on track to meet our goal as a full stack AI memory provider, satisfying customers and leading market expansion through the timely launch of products with best-in-class quality and performance required by the AI ecosystem," Song Hyun-jong, president and head of Corporate Center at SK hynix, said. "We will carry out part of the planned investments preemptively this year for a smooth delivery of major products with visible demand for next year, including HBM." The strong performance was driven by the full-scale ramp up of 12-layer HBM3E sales and increased NAND flash shipments across all applications. The company also attributed its recent success to an aggressive investment by global big tech companies into AI. "There are concerns about a potential demand slowdown in the second half (of the year), but major market fluctuations seem unlikely. We plan to focus operations on products with clear demand visibility," Kim Kyu-hyun, head of DRAM Marketing, said. While HBM4 involves significant technical upgrades — including expanded (input/output) for higher bandwidth, design changes for lower power consumption and the application of logic processes to the base die — SK hynix said it is factoring in the increased production costs as much as possible into its pricing strategy. "We aim to establish optimal pricing in collaboration with customers, while maintaining a healthy level of profitability," said Kim Ki-tae, SK hynix vice president and head of HBM sales and marketing. Regarding the latest US export controls possibly weakening the role of its Chinese manufacturing facilities, SK hynix emphasized that its China fabs will remain a core part of its global memory production strategy. "Shortage in legacy products, such as DDR4 and LPDDR4, are emerging across the industry, and we see our China fab playing a key role in meeting that demand," Song said. He also forecast that long-term demand for the legacy products would remain steady, particularly from Chinese smartphone makers. Capacity for older-generation DRAM chips has tightened in the past months as global production shifts toward HBM chips and newer DRAM standards like DDR5 and LPDDR5. Over Nvidia's plan to supply the H20 chips to China, SK hynix said it is ready to respond quickly if customer demand and supply conditions align. The company currently supplies 8-layer HBM3 — the previous-generation product — for the H20. SK hynix also plans to launch its 24Gb GDDR7 in the second half of the year, which is reportedly intended for Nvidia's upcoming RTX Pro AI accelerator targeting the Chinese market. Additionally, the company is focusing on strengthening its core DRAM technology, which underpins HBM. The company said it is developing next-generation technologies such as 3D DRAM and vertical gate architectures, and plans to begin transitioning to its sixth-generation 10-nanometer-class process in the second half of this year, with full-scale adoption scheduled for next year. In the NAND business, the company said it will take a cautious investment approach, prioritizing profitability and market demand, while continuing product development in anticipation of future market recovery. The company plans to expand sales of QLC-based high-capacity eSSDs and strengthen its product portfolio built on 321-layer NAND. Regarding its M15X fab in Cheongju, SK hynix said it plans to begin operations in the fourth quarter of this year, with mass production of next-generation HBM scheduled to start next year.
Mint
6 days ago
- Business
- Mint
SK hynix posts record profits on surging AI demand
South Korean chip giant SK hynix reported record quarterly profits Thursday thanks to soaring demand for artificial intelligence. The world's second-largest memory chip maker dominates the market for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) semiconductors and is a key supplier for US titan Nvidia. The firm said operating profit climbed almost 70 percent to 9.21 trillion won ($6.72 billion) in the second quarter, with revenues coming in at 22.23 trillion won -- both all-time peaks. The news comes after Taiwan chip giant TSMC last week announced a surge in net profit for the second quarter, topping forecasts, thanks to robust demand for AI technology, despite the threat of US tariffs on the critical sector. HK hynix also said net profit was up close to 70 percent on-year, at 6.99 trillion won. "An aggressive investment by global big tech companies into AI led to a steady increase in demand for AI memory," it said in a statement. Shipments of DRAM and NAND flash topped forecasts, boosting the bottom line. "SK hynix foresees that increasing competition among big tech companies to enhance inference of AI models would lead to higher demand for high-performance and high-capacity memory products," the company added. Shares in the firm rose more than three percent in Seoul. South Korea is a major exporter to the United States and its powerhouse semiconductor and auto industries would suffer greatly under President Donald Trump's threatened 25 percent tariffs. Experts attribute SK hynix's resilience to its growth in the DRAM market. The firm took the lead in DRAM revenues in April, with a 36 percent market share, according to specialist research firm Counterpoint. That surpassed South Korean rival Samsung for the first time and marked the first change in the top spot in more than four decades. The company also recorded a combined $15.5 billion in sales of DRAM and NAND in the second quarter, matching Samsung to jointly lead the global memory market, according to a Counterpoint report. SK hynix said in a conference call that "the previous quarter began amid concerns over slowing demand due to trade tensions and broader economic uncertainty". But "strong AI-related investment by major tech firms continued to drive growth in demand for AI-oriented memory products". As the United States has been threatening certain restrictions on semiconductor sales to China, customers' preemptive purchases "to hedge against external risks", actually created a "more favourable environment than initially expected", an SK hynix official said.
