SK hynix Inc., a major chipmaker, said Thursday its third-quarter net profit reached an all-time high, apparently helped by strong global prices of chips.

Net profit came to a record high of 3.05 trillion won (US$2.7 billion), rising sharply from 597 billion won posted a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Operating profit also reached a historic high of 3.7 trillion won in the July-September period, rising sharply from 725 billion won posted in the previous year. Sales increased 91 percent over the cited period to reach 8.1 trillion won.

SK hynix posted new quarterly records in net profit, operating income and revenue.

The net profit was in line with the market's estimate of 3 trillion won, a number compiled by Yonhap Infomax, the financial arm of Yonhap News Agency, based on 18 local brokerage houses.

SK hynix said the shipment of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips advanced 17 percent and average selling prices rose 6 percent on-quarter in the July-September period, on the back of rising demand for server products.

The shipment of NAND flash products also shot up 16 percent over the cited period following the release of new smartphones, although the average sales price edged down 3 percent.

For the fourth quarter, SK hynix said demand for its products is expected to continue to remain firm on strong demand from data centers amid the boom of cloud computing services.

The release of new smartphones by tech manufacturers will also continue to support its earnings, SK hynix added.

SK hynix said it will kick off the production of 10-nanometer DRAM as planned in the fourth quarter.

"In addition," it said in a statement, "the company is to deal with the high-density mobile solution and SSD market with its 72-Layer 3D NAND, which will be mass produced in the fourth quarter."

SK hynix said the overall production of DRAM products will increase 20 percent next year to meet strong demand from the server and mobile segment.

Rising demand from users to save high-quality photos and videos will also lead to a 30 percent rise in the production of NAND flash memories, it added.

The company said it will complete the construction of additional facilities in Icheon, 80 kilometer southeast of Seoul, by December, aimed at meeting the industrywide boom.

For all of 2017, the company said it will allocate 9.6 trillion won to facility investment.

Over the long haul, SK hynix's profitability may also get a boost from its participation in a global consortium that recently purchased Japan-based Toshiba Corp.'s memory business.

Earlier this week, shareholders of Toshiba approved the deal estimated at 2 trillion yen (US$17.7 billion) to sell the memory business to Pangea, a special purpose acquisition company established by the consortium that also includes U.S. Bain Capital, Apple Inc., Hoya Optics and Dell Inc.

Shares of SK hynix dipped 3.67 percent to end at 78,700 won on the main bourse on Thursday. The third-quarter report was released before the market opened.

By: DocMemory
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