SK Hynix said that although the first quarter 2018 ended March 31, 2018 has been traditionally slow-season in the memory semiconductor market, favorable market price has helped the company offset.
During the first quarter, the memory chip maker's revenue and the operating profit declined by 3% and 2% because of the company's declined shipments of DRAM and NAND Flash.
Quarter-over-quarter, DRAM bit shipments decreased by 5% due to weak mobile demand and lessened production days nevertheless of sustained robust server demand. However, the average selling price rose by 9% through evenly increased price for all DRAM product categories.
For NAND Flash, the bit shipments declined by 10% mainly due to the weak sales in the mobile sector. The average selling price was lowered by 1%.
SK Hynix plans to focus on expanding leading edge technologies and diversifying product portfolio to respond to the market demands. Therefore, it will consistently expand the portion of 1Xnm and hit its stride in the sales of 1Xnm server and graphics DRAM.
In addition, the company plans to enter the enterprise SSD market with its PCIe products that have been recently validated by IDC clients. Furthermore, SK Hynix plans to stretch its 72-Layer 3D NAND to increase the sales of high density mobile applications and a variety of client SSD solutions.
SK hynix said it will complete the construction of a new factory in Cheongju, 137 kilometers south of Seoul, as well as the expansion of its Chinese line to cope with the rising demand.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd also warned last week of softer smartphone demand, cutting its revenue target and sending shares of key client Apple and as well as other chip firms lower.