SK Hynix, a key Nvidia supplier, achieved its highest quarterly profit since 2018, driven by robust demand for AI chips, especially high bandwidth memory (HBM) used in generative AI chipsets.

The surge in memory chip prices, particularly for those essential in AI hardware like Nvidia's, contributed to profit growth for two consecutive quarters.

In the April-June quarter, SK Hynix reported a remarkable operating profit of 5.47 trillion won, a significant improvement from a 2.9 trillion won loss in the same period last year.

The company's revenue skyrocketed by 125% year-on-year to hit 16.4 trillion won, marking a record high for the same period.

Second-quarter revenues for SK Hynix reached 16.4 trillion won ($11.9 billion), with an operating profit of 5.5 trillion won ($4 billion).

SK Hynix's revenue surged to a record high of 16.42 trillion won, more than doubling the revenue from the same period last year.

Revenue saw a 32% increase from the previous quarter due to strong demand for AI memory chips.

The company foresees sustained growth in memory chip demand from AI in the latter half of the year, alongside increased demand from personal computing and mobile sectors due to new products supporting on-device AI.

The expansion of the AI industry has driven a recovery in demand for SK Hynix and the overall chipmaking sector, countering sluggish device sales and reduced tech investments.

SK Hynix anticipates a more than twofold increase in next year's HBM shipments compared to this year, reflecting the growing demand for AI.

The chipmaker initiated mass production of fifth-generation HBM chips in March, with plans to introduce 12-layer HBM3E chips in Q4 and HBM4 in the second half of 2025.

The CEO of SK Hynix mentioned that HBM chips are sold out for the current year and nearly sold out for 2025, indicating a high level of demand.