SK Hynix posted its best quarterly performance in three years, surpassing 10 trillion won in sales, driven by increased demand for PCs, graphics cards, and consumer electronics, as well as a recovery in server demand.

SK Hynix announced its second-quarter 2021 financial results on the 27th. According to the results, consolidated revenue reached KRW 10.3217 trillion, a 19.9% increase year-over-year, and operating profit reached KRW 2.6946 trillion, a 38.3% increase year-over-year. Net income for the period reached KRW 1.9884 trillion, a 56.5% increase year-over-year.

SK Hynix recorded quarterly sales exceeding 10 trillion won in the second quarter, as the memory market, which began improving early this year, continued to improve. This marks the first time in three years since the third quarter of 2018, when the memory market was booming.

The improved performance was driven by a significant increase in demand for memory for PCs, graphics, and consumer products, as well as a recovery in demand for server memory.

In addition, advanced process products such as 10nm-class 2nd generation (1y) and 3rd generation (1z) DRAM and 128-layer NAND flash are selling well, increasing cost competitiveness. This resulted in a 22% increase in sales and a 103% increase in operating profit compared to the previous quarter.

SK Hynix forecasts that the memory market will continue its positive trend in the second half of this year, driven by continued demand growth and seasonal peak demand. In particular, the company anticipates the release of new mobile NAND flash products with high capacities, and further growth in enterprise SSD demand.

SK Hynix plans to focus on maintaining its technological competitiveness in DRAM and increasing profitability in NAND flash in the second half of this year.

First, the company plans to increase sales of high-capacity server DRAM exceeding 64GB (gigabytes). Furthermore, the company announced plans to supply customers with 10nm-class, fourth-generation (1a) DRAM, which has begun mass production using EUV, and to begin mass production of DDR5 in the second half of the year.

NAND Flash plans to turn a profit in the third quarter by expanding sales of 128-layer mobile solutions and enterprise SSD products, and begin mass production of 176-layer products by the end of the year.

SK Hynix also announced the achievements of its ESG management activities. Recognized for its climate change response and water resource management capabilities, SK Hynix has maintained its Hall of Fame status in the "Carbon Management" category from the CDP Korea Committee for eight consecutive years. This year, the committee also selected SK Hynix as the best company in the "Water Management" category.

SK Hynix Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Jong-won Noh said, “We will do our best to achieve sustainable growth by actively engaging in ESG management and communication in addition to efforts to improve performance.”