SK Hynix posts sixfold rise in Q2 profit on AI chip demand, misses forecasts
SOXX•Record quarterly profit driven by AI chip demand
SEOUL, July 29 (Reuters) - South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix 000660.KS reported a more than sixfold increase in quarterly operating profit to a record high on Wednesday, driven by robust demand for advanced memory chips as big technology firms ramped up spending on AI data centres.
The Nvidia NVDA.O supplier reported an operating profit of 60.5 trillion won ($41.62 billion) for the April-June period, compared with 9.2 trillion won a year earlier. But it missed a 64 trillion won forecast by LSEG SmartEstimate, which is weighted toward analysts who are more consistently accurate.
Company says AI infrastructure investment supported results
"Driven by sustained demand growth from expanding AI infrastructure investments, high-performance products for AI servers led price increases, enabling the company to surpass its previous record set in the prior quarter," SK Hynix said in a statement.
SK Hynix missed analysts' forecasts because its higher exposure to high-end memory chips used in AI data centres than rivals meant it benefited less from a stronger price rally in conventional memory chips.
The company said its quarterly revenue rose 257% to 79.3 trillion won.
($1 = 1,453.7200 won)
