SK Hynix saw its U.S. memory sales more than double last year compared to the previous year. The company’s retained earnings, which fund memory investments, surpassed 100 trillion KRW (about 68 billion USD) for the first time in its history. Additionally, the value of assets under construction hit a record high of 11 trillion KRW (about 7.5 billion USD).
According to SK Hynix’s consolidated audit report released on Wednesday, its North American subsidiary (SK Hynix America) reported sales of 58.6933 trillion KRW (about 40 billion USD) and a net profit of 235.9 billion KRW (about 160 million USD) last year. This represents a staggering 75.4% increase in sales and a 124.8% jump in net profit compared to the previous year.
Riding the wave of the semiconductor supercycle, SK Hynix achieved a record-breaking annual revenue of 97.1467 trillion KRW (about 66 billion USD) last year. Notably, 60% of this revenue came from North America, its largest market. The company’s net profit nearly tripled from the previous year.
Retained earnings skyrocketed to 106.5765 trillion KRW (about 76 billion USD), a 62.92% increase from the previous year’s 65.4181 trillion KRW (about 45 billion USD). This marks the first time in the company’s history that retained earnings have exceeded the 100 trillion KRW (about 68 billion USD) threshold. Meanwhile, long-term non-current borrowings significantly decreased to 28.798 trillion KRW (about 20 billion USD) from 50.21 trillion KRW (about 34 billion USD) the previous year.
Retained earnings and long-term borrowings are typically earmarked for medium to long-term investments, such as research and development (R&D) and facility upgrades. SK Hynix substantially improved its financial health last year, posting an operating profit of around 47 trillion KRW (about 32 billion USD). This allowed the company to reduce debt while boosting surplus funds, effectively stockpiling investment ammunition for future growth.
As of the end of last year, the book value of SK Hynix’s assets under construction reached 11.1072 trillion KRW (about 7.6 billion USD), an impressive 84.5% increase from the previous year’s 6.0188 trillion KRW (about 4.1 billion USD). This is the first time the company’s assets under construction have surpassed the 10 trillion KRW (about 6.8 billion USD) mark.
In a recent move, SK Hynix announced plans to invest an additional 21.6 trillion KRW (about 14.7 billion USD) in its first fab at the Yongin semiconductor cluster. Earlier in January, the company also revealed its intention to build a 19 trillion KRW (about 13 billion USD) advanced packaging fab in Cheongju to optimize production at its existing Cheongju facility.
