SK hynix reports big loss in Q1 as chip prices slump

SK hynix reported Wednesday 2.6 trillion won ($1.9 billion) in net loss for the first quarter as a downturn in the memory chip business and big inventories continued to erode its profitability.

An SK hynix logo is seen at the company's office in Seongnam, Gyeonggi. [NEWS1]

SK hynix reported a net loss of 2.6 trillion won ($1.9 billion) Wednesday for the first quarter as a downturn in the memory chip business and big inventories continued to erode its profitability.

The loss, a dramatic shift from nearly 2 trillion won of net profit during the same period last year, was still less than the market consensus of 3.47 trillion won.

Its operating loss came at 3.4 trillion won, below the marker estimate of 3.6 trillion won, which was tracked by FnGuide.

The Icheon, Gyeonggi-based chip producer posted 5.1 trillion won in sales, down 58.1 percent from over a year ago.

A crash in memory chip prices accelerated in the first three months, but the company expects a rebound in the second quarter.

“As the memory chip downturn continued through the first quarter, the company posted a sequential drop in revenues and widened operating loss on sluggish demand and falling products prices,” SK hynix said. “But we expect revenues to rebound in the second quarter after bottoming out in the first, driven by a gradual increase in sales volume.”

BY PARK EUN-JEE [park.eunjee@joongang.co.kr]