SK Hynix, a South Korean memory-chip maker, has reported its third consecutive quarterly loss due to a slow recovery in the chip industry. The company also announced a further reduction in production.
In the second quarter, SK Hynix incurred a net loss of KRW2.988 trillion ($2.34 billion), following a loss of KRW2.585 trillion in the previous quarter and a profit of KRW2.881 trillion in the same quarter last year. This marks the fourth consecutive quarter of losses for the company.
The larger-than-expected loss indicates that the chip-industry downturn is more severe than anticipated.
Second-quarter revenue declined by 47% YoY to KRW7.306 trillion, resulting in an operating loss of KRW2.882 trillion.
For the first half of the year, revenue dropped by 52% YoY to KRW12.394 trillion, resulting in an operating loss of KRW6.284 trillion and a net loss of KRW5.573 trillion.
SK Hynix stated that memory-chip demand had begun to recover in the second quarter but at an insufficient pace to normalize inventory levels.
To address the supply glut, SK Hynix has already reduced its capital expenditure by over 50% this year and will further cut its NAND memory chip production.
However, the company plans to continue securing production capacity for high-end chips like double data rate 5 and high bandwidth memory, as demand for these chips from the artificial-intelligence segment continues to rise.
SK Hynix maintains its outlook that memory-chip demand will increase in the second half of this year.
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