Korean chipmaker SK Hynix Inc. on Thursday said shipment growth would slow in the third quarter as it posted its first drop in quarterly profit in two years.
A change in product mix and a transition to more complex production technology will crimp third-quarter shipments growth for the key DRAM business, SK Hynix President Kim Joon-ho told analysts during a conference call.
SK Hynix posted operating profit of 1.1 trillion won ($1.07 billion) for the April-June period. The result was 2.7 percent below the same quarter a year earlier.
The company's revenue fell 0.2 percent compared with the previous corresponding period.
President Kim said growth in shipments of DRAM chips would slow to a mid-single-digit percent rate in the third quarter, from 13 percent in the April-June period. Shipments of NAND chips, typically used in mobile devices, would slow to a high 20 percent rate from 54 percent.
However, SK Hynix tipped firm market conditions amid a seasonal pickup in demand for consumer electronics products as well as cautious capacity management among chipmakers.
"DRAM market trends will remain favorable due to better-than-expected demand for personal computers as well as data centre-related server demand," Kim said.
"The launch of new mobile products by major companies and the development of LTE-related demand in China will likely keep demand-side conditions firm," he added, referring to China's next-generation mobile network.
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