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A view of SK Hynix's headquarters in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, on Oct. 28. / Yonhap News Agency

SK Hynix reported record-breaking earnings in the third quarter of this year, surpassing 100 trillion won in quarterly revenue and 80 trillion won in operating profit for the first time. The results were driven by surging demand for high-value memory products, including high-bandwidth memory (HBM), amid the global expansion of artificial intelligence (AI), pushing the company's operating profit margin to nearly 80%. Building on its record earnings and substantial investment returns, the company plans to implement an additional 60 trillion won shareholder return program this year.

SK Hynix announced on Oct. 28 that its preliminary consolidated operating profit for the third quarter reached 83.3338 trillion won, up 632.1% from a year earlier. Revenue rose 327.9% year-on-year to 104.6155 trillion won. Both figures far exceeded market estimates compiled by financial data provider FnGuide, which had projected revenue of 98.2257 trillion won and operating profit of 76.964 trillion won. Revenue and operating profit have both set new records for six consecutive quarters since the second quarter of last year. The operating profit margin climbed to 79.7% in the third quarter, following 72% in the first quarter and 76% in the second. The strong results were largely attributed to the memory semiconductor boom driven by the expansion of AI.

Taking advantage of favorable market conditions, SK Hynix plans to accelerate efforts to expand production capacity and strengthen product competitiveness. The company will maximize production capacity at its M15X plant in Cheongju to meet rapidly growing demand for HBM4, while increasing the share of sixth-generation 10-nanometer-class (1c) technology in its DRAM production. It also plans to expand the share of its flagship 321-layer NAND flash production process.

Meanwhile, SK Hynix unveiled an additional 60 trillion won shareholder return plan on the same day. The company plans to allocate at least 30 trillion won to cash dividends and at least 60 trillion won to share repurchases and cancellations, including the 40 trillion won already spent. Total shareholder returns for this year are expected to reach 100 trillion won.

                                                                                                           Yeon Chan-mo