SK Hynix Q1 Profit Hits Record 37.6 Trillion Won

South Korea's SK Hynix Inc. reported a record-high operating profit of 37.6 trillion won ($25.4 billion) for the first quarter on April 23, marking a more than fivefold increase from 7.4 trillion won a year earlier, driven by surging demand for memory chips amid the artificial intelligence boom.

The results, which aligned closely with analyst forecasts of 37.9 trillion won, highlighted robust sales of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) essential for AI applications, alongside gains in conventional DRAM and NAND flash products. Quarterly revenue nearly tripled to 52.6 trillion won, up 198 percent year-over-year. SK Hynix attributed the performance to constrained supplies and sharp price hikes, with contract prices for certain DRAM chips rising nearly 83 percent and some NAND products increasing around 160 percent from the previous quarter, according to market data.

Executives emphasized the role of AI infrastructure investments by major technology firms, including those partnering with Nvidia Corp., in fueling the growth. "Demand for high-bandwidth memory critical for training and running artificial intelligence models will exceed supply for the next three years," Chief Financial...