Key Points
- SK Hynix achieved a record revenue of $46.054 billion in 2024, doubling from the previous year. Net income reached $13.776 billion.
- AI memory products, including HBM3E and enterprise SSDs, were key growth drivers. Operating margin improved to 35%, compared to -24% in 2023.
- The company plans to expand HBM3E production and develop HBM4 to meet growing AI demand.
- Flexible investment strategies will guide future growth amid market fluctuations.
SK Hynix reported record financial results for 2024, with revenue, operating profit, and net income reaching unprecedented levels. The company attributed its success to surging demand for high-performance dynamic random access memory (DRAM), such as HBM3 and HBM3E, and enterprise-grade solid-state drives (SSDs) used in artificial intelligence (AI) applications.
For 2024, SK Hynix generated ₩66.193 trillion ($46.054 billion) in revenue, a substantial increase from ₩32.765 trillion ($22.8 billion) in 2023. The company posted an operating profit of ₩23.467 trillion ($16.327 billion), rebounding from the previous year’s losses. Net income reached ₩19.797 trillion ($13.776 billion), starkly contrasting the ₩9.138 trillion ($6.36 billion) net loss in 2023. The operating margin improved significantly to 35% in 2024, compared to -24% the previous year.
Despite a seasonal decline in revenue in the fourth quarter and falling prices for 3D NAND memory, SK Hynix increased its operating margin by ramping up production of premium HBM3E memory.
The company credits its strong performance to growing sales of AI memory products, critical for AI accelerators such as Nvidia’s H100, H200, and B100/B200 chips. Demand for enterprise-grade SSDs used in AI training and inference systems also contributed to growth. SK Hynix’s high-density server-grade DDR5 memory modules also significantly impacted the company’s financial turnaround.
Kim Woohyun, SK Hynix’s Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, emphasized the company’s focus on maintaining profitability through high-value product offerings. He stated that SK Hynix is positioned to sustain growth and profitability despite potential market fluctuations.
The company anticipates continued expansion in AI-driven markets, particularly in AI servers. While demand for traditional consumer products like PCs and smartphones may slow, AI-equipped devices are expected to drive growth in the latter half of the year.
SK Hynix plans to expand HBM3E production, develop next-generation HBM4 technology, and transition to advanced manufacturing processes for DDR5 and LPDDR5 to meet the rising demand. The company will also adopt a flexible 3D NAND flash memory strategy to optimize profitability.
