[Courtesy of SK hynix]
SEOUL, Jan. 25 (Aju News) -- Helped by strong global demand and high prices, SK hynix posted a stellar performance in its corporate earnings last year with sales and profit setting a new record.
Net profit jumped 260 percent on-year to 10.64 trillion won (9.9 billion US dollars) last year, SK hynix said in a regulatory filing. Operation profit surged 319 percent to 13.7 trillion won and sales were up 75 percent to 30.19 trillion won.
The company attributed its stellar performance in 2017 to strong demand for NAND flash products and server products that boosted the shipment of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips.
In the fourth quarter of last year, net profit rose 98 percent to 3.22 trillion won. Operating profit stood at 4.47 trillion won, up 190.7 percent from 1.54 trillion won a year ago, and sales surged 68.5 percent from 5.36 trillion to 9.03 trillion won.
Demand for server products and smartphone chips are expected to remain firm this year, the company said, citing the expanded use of smartphones in India and other emerging markets and continued growth the NAND flash market led by solid-state drives (SSDs).
Market researchers predict strong demand from data centers amid the boom of cloud computing services while the release of new smartphones will support earnings. In the mobile segment, NAND flash memories will be used more widely to store high-quality photos and videos.
South Korean semiconductor makers have led overall exports last year, contributing to economic growth. Samsung is estimated to have logged an operating profit of 34 trillion won and 74 trillion won in sales last year in its semiconductor division.
The record-breaking march by Samsung and SK hynix in the global semiconductor market is expected to continue this year, but experts warn of tough competition next year with Chinese firms which have invested heavily to raise the proportion of domestic semiconductors.
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
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