SK Hynix said on Tuesday it posted second-quarter revenue of 79.3 trillion won and operating profit of 60.5 trillion won. Revenue rose 256.8 percent from a year earlier and operating profit increased 557.2 percent. The operating margin was 76 percent.

The figure marks another quarterly record after the previous quarter. First-half revenue totalled 131.9 trillion won, topping 100 trillion won for the first time. Cumulative operating profit came to 98.2 trillion won, up 489.4 percent from 16.7 trillion won a year earlier.

Both DRAM and NAND flash recorded sharp price rises from the previous quarter. The company said profitability improved as it expanded sales focused on high value-added products such as high bandwidth memory (HBM), AI server DRAM and eSSD (enterprise solid state drive).

Cash and cash equivalents stood at 88.0 trillion won at the end of the second quarter, up 33.6 trillion won from the end of the previous quarter. Borrowings fell by 0.7 trillion won to 18.6 trillion won, and net cash expanded to 69.4 trillion won.

SK Hynix said it sees the base for memory demand broadening as AI evolves into an agent form. The company said a structural change is emerging in which demand for AI memory and general memory expands together.

Additional supply requests are also continuing as big tech companies increase investment in AI infrastructure. The company forecast the growth in memory demand will continue because the investment is being made based on AI service revenue.

SK Hynix said it has concluded negotiations on long-term supply agreements (LTA) with about 10 parties, including key customers. It is also continuing additional talks with major customers in the industry. The company said multi-year contracts will improve operational efficiency while strengthening mid- to long-term business stability and the foundation for growth.

HBM4 (high bandwidth memory 4) achieved the operating speed required by customers, industry-leading power efficiency and cost competitiveness at the same time. The company began mass production shipments in the second quarter and will significantly expand production in the second half. The company said HBM4E, for which it completed sample supply in the first half, applied an optimal process with technological maturity and mass production stability.

In NAND, the 321-layer product accounted for the largest share of total output, and the company plans to expand it to about 50 percent of domestic production capacity by year-end. It will strengthen its portfolio around high-capacity and high-performance products by accelerating the shift to advanced processes.

SK Hynix is moving up the schedule for mass production of M15X and is also making investments to rapidly expand capacity after the cleanroom opens at the first phase of its Yongin fab in early 2027. It plans to push ahead step by step with mid- to long-term investment plans, including the advanced packaging plant P&T7, the NAND production base M17 and the creation of a new semiconductor cluster, taking into account customer demand and investment efficiency.