SK Hynix Exceeds Estimates on Resilient Memory Demand By
Sam Kim
January 24, 2018, 5:41 PM EST Updated on January 24, 2018, 8:12 PM EST
Profit bolstered by stronger won; company sees chip shortages
Shares rise but still remain below record in September
SK Hynix Inc., a supplier of memory chips to Apple Inc., posted earnings that topped estimates, assuaging concerns about a slowdown in demand from smartphone makers.
Shares rose after the chipmaker reported that operating profit climbed to 4.47 trillion won ($4.2 billion) in the three months ended in December, the Icheon, South Korea-based company said in a statement Thursday. That compares with the 4.28 trillion-won average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Sales were 9.03 trillion won.
The earnings growth comes after Hynix shares slipped from record highs amid growing concerns that demand for memory chips would become sluggish, while the South Korean currency strengthened the most in Asia against the dollar. Its fourth-quarter performance reinforces optimism that the slide may be temporary and that Asia’s second-largest memory chipmaker can reach record profit for a second straight year.
“This current share price isn’t deserved,” Choi Do-yeon, a researcher at Shinhan Investment Corp., wrote in a report released before the earnings. “Despite unfavorable currency trends, a shortage in DRAM supplies is expected to help break record earnings in 2018.”
Hynix shares rose as much as 2.2 percent in early morning trade. The stock is down about 18 percent from a record in September.
continues at bloomberg.com
[Micron isn't the only stock that is down quite a bit from its highs.] |
