SK Hynix posts 65 pct drop in Q1 operating profit

SK Hynix, South Korea's No.2 chipmaker, posted a double-digit drop in its first-quarter operating profit due to lower chip prices and softer demand, a regulatory filing showed Tuesday.

Operating profit was 561.8 billion won (488 million U.S. dollars) in the three months ending March 31, down 64.6 percent from the same period of last year. From the previous three-month period, it was down 43.2 percent.

The first-quarter profit missed market expectations of about 576 billion won.

The chipmaker's operating profit had stayed above 1 trillion won for seven straight quarters through the third quarter of last year, but it fell below the 1 trillion-won level in the fourth quarter.

Revenue tumbled 24 percent from a year earlier to 3.66 trillion won in the first quarter, and net income plunged 65 percent to 448 billion won.

The faltering earnings were attributed to lower product prices and softer demand for semiconductors.

The company's DRAM shipments reduced 3 percent in the first quarter from the previous quarter due to delayed recovery in PC chip sales and weaker demand for chips used for mobile phones and servers.

Average semiconductor prices tumbled 14 percent on a quarterly basis.

NAND Flash memory chip prices declined 12 percent, while shipments of those chips slipped 11 percent. Endit