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SEOUL, July 29 (Yonhap) -- SK hynix Inc. said Wednesday that its revenue and operating profit reached record highs in the second quarter, driven by robust demand for high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips and other memory products.

Net profit came to a record 93.92 trillion won (US$64.6 billion) for the April-June period, surged 1,242.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the company's regulatory filing.

Its operating income soared 557.2 percent on-year to 60.54 trillion won. Sales increased 256.8 percent to 79.31 trillion won.

The company's operating profit margin reached a record high of 76 percent for the second quarter, compared with 75 percent in the first quarter.

The margin means SK hynix generated roughly 7,600 won in operating profit for every 10,000 won in sales, an exceptionally high level rarely seen in the manufacturing sector.

The company also outperformed its rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world's largest contract chipmaker, in operating profit margin for the third consecutive quarter since the fourth quarter of 2025.

TSMC posted a 60.3 percent operating margin in the second quarter, leaving a gap of about 15 percentage points between the two companies.

The earnings exceeded market expectations. The average estimate of net profit by analysts stood at 63.55 trillion won, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency.

The strong results are expected to ease investor concerns over a potential artificial intelligence (AI) bubble and fears that demand for AI chips may have peaked, which recently triggered a sharp decline in technology stocks.

SK hynix has cemented its leadership in the HBM market by moving early to develop the advanced memory chips, becoming a key supplier to Nvidia as demand for AI accelerators has surged.

According to market research firm Counterpoint Research, SK hynix accounted for 58 percent of the global HBM market by revenue in the first quarter, maintaining its position as the industry's leading supplier. Its longtime rival Samsung Electronics and Micron Technology each held a 21 percent share.

The company's HBM leadership helped propel it past Samsung Electronics to become South Korea's most valuable listed company by market capitalization for the first time in 25 years in June.

After increasing its net cash position to 35 trillion won at the end of the first quarter, the company expanded its investment capacity further in the second quarter through strong cash generation.

Cash and cash equivalents rose to about 88 trillion won as of the end of June, up more than 33 trillion won from 54.3 trillion won three months earlier.

The global chip manufacturer said it plans to use the funds to expand investments in key production facilities, including the semiconductor cluster in Yongin, south of Seoul, the ramp-up of its M15X fabrication plant in Cheongju and next-generation HBM manufacturing capacity.

Regarding production of its sixth-generation HBM4 chips, SK hynix said yields and product quality have already reached levels close to those of its mature HBM3E products.

"Mass production shipments of HBM4 to major customers began in the second quarter, and we are now steadily ramping up production capacity," the company said during a conference call on its quarterly earnings.

It also said it has completed sample shipments of HBM4E to customers and is progressing with development as scheduled, with mass production targeted for next year.

Looking ahead, SK hynix said it expects stronger earnings in the second half than in the first half, supported by a significant increase in HBM4 shipments.

Addressing concerns over reports that some major technology companies are reviewing data center leasing plans and adopting more efficient AI models, the company said it views the trend not as a pullback in investment but as an effort to improve utilization of AI infrastructure that has already been built and to accelerate monetization.

The company also dismissed concerns that its recently announced long-term investment plan could lead to an oversupply of memory chips.

"Our capacity expansion will be carried out flexibly based on confirmed demand, so the likelihood that our mid- to long-term investment plan will immediately result in oversupply is limited," it said.

SK hynix said it expects capital expenditures this year to reach the high-40 trillion-won range, more than 10 trillion won higher than last year. The company invested 30.2 trillion won in facilities in 2025.

khj@yna.co.kr

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