SEOUL - SK Hynix reported a more moderate decline in revenue for the third quarter, a sign the global semiconductor market may be recovering after more than a year of challenges.
Revenue dropped 17 per cent to 9.07 trillion won (S$9.2 billion), compared with expectations for 8.14 trillion won, according to analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. That’s an improvement from a 47 per cent slide in the previous three months and a drop of more than 58 per cent the quarter before that.
Its operating loss shrunk to 1.79 trillion won, compared with estimates of a 1.7 trillion won loss.
The world’s No. 2 maker of memory chips and rival Samsung Electronics have struggled through an industry downturn as demand for smartphones and personal computers wanes. Samsung, which reported preliminary results earlier this month, also revealed a more modest slide in profit than the previous quarter, which boosted shares.
SK Hynix’s stock has outperformed its larger rival this year, soaring 70 per cent compared with about 23 per cent for Samsung. SK Hynix has benefited from its deal to supply premium high-bandwidth memory chips to Nvidia, whose artificial intelligence chips have been such a hit this year that its market valuation surged to US$1 trillion.
“SK Hynix’s 3Q sales might have been better than peers’, due to the firm’s strength in high bandwidth memory (HBM) products, which are used for generative artificial intelligence (AI),” Masahiro Wakasugi, senior industry analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence, wrote ahead of results.
Chipmakers have also been navigating rising political tensions between the United States and China, leading to expanding export controls on semiconductors and related equipment. This month, the US granted SK Hynix and Samsung indefinite waivers to acquire the equipment they need to sustain and expand their giant chipmaking operations in China. BLOOMBERG
