SK hynix posts record annual revenue of 97.1 trillion won and operating profit of 47.2 trillion won Breaking: SK hynix posts record annual revenue of 97.1 trillion won and operating profit of 47.2 trillion won* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-01-28 16:42:24

SK hynix Q4 revenue tops 32 trillion won, a quarterly record SK hynix Q4 revenue tops 32 trillion won, a quarterly record SK hynix said its fourth-quarter revenue topped 32 trillion won, setting a record for the company’s quarterly sales.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-01-28 16:39:00

SK hynix posts record annual operating profit of 47.2 trillion won SK hynix reported an annual operating profit of 47.2 trillion won, its highest on record. 2026-01-28 16:36:18

South Korea's LS Electric sees record orders, earnings on power infrastructure boom SEOUL, January 27 (AJP) - South Korean power equipment company LS Electric said on Tuesday it posted record revenue and operating profit in 2025, driven by strong growth in its North American business and rising demand for power infrastructure. The company said consolidated revenue rose 9 percent from a year earlier to 4.96 trillion won, while operating profit increased 9.6 percent to 426.9 billion won. Fourth-quarter revenue climbed to a record 1.52 trillion won, with operating profit also reaching an all-time high of 130.2 billion won. LS Electric attributed the gains to expansion in its global business, led by power systems for large technology companies’ data centers in North America and its ultra-high-voltage transformer operations. The company also cited a selective order strategy focused on higher-margin projects. Orders related to data center power systems exceeded 1 trillion won last year as it expanded sales in the North American power distribution market. The ultra-high-voltage transformer business also recorded an increase in new orders, mainly in the United States, supported by expanded production capacity following the completion of its second plant in Busan. Revenue from North America surpassed 1 trillion won for the first time in 2025, rising about 30% from a year earlier and emerging as a key growth driver, the company said. LS Electric also reported solid performance in Southeast Asia, citing increased power infrastructure investment in markets such as Vietnam and Indonesia. Simpors, an Indonesian power equipment company acquired in 2023, posted double-digit growth in operating profit. The company said its order backlog reached a record level of about 5 trillion won at the end of 2025. Ultra-high-voltage transformer orders accounted for roughly 2.7 trillion won, more than half of the total. New orders during the year totaled about 3.7 trillion won, the highest annual level in the company’s history. An LS Electric official said the data center power systems and ultra-high-voltage transformer businesses in North America marked the company’s entry into an era of 1 trillion won in regional revenue. The official said LS Electric plans to strengthen its position as a global total power solutions provider in 2026 by focusing on next-generation businesses such as high-voltage direct current systems and energy storage systems, while expanding into Europe and the Middle East. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2026-01-27 13:45:29

Samsung heir to participate in multinational exercise in Thailand SEOUL, January 23 (AJP) - Lee Ji-ho, the son of Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Jae-yong, will participate in his first overseas combined exercise next month since being commissioned as an ensign in November last year. According to military sources on Friday, Lee junior is expected to be dispatched to Cobra Gold, the largest multinational combined exercise held annually in Thailand since 1982, hosted by the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. This year's exercise, slated to be held from Feb. 24 to March 6, is expected to be one of the biggest including various drills such as amphibious landings and other operations, with more than 8,000 personnel from 30 countries including about 300 South Korean Navy personnel and marines. Ji-ho, who serves as an interpreter officer, is expected to help facilitate communication among the multinational forces during the exercise. He gave up his U.S. citizenship to fulfill his military duty in South Korea by enlisting as a naval officer candidate in September. After completing 10 weeks of combat training, he was commissioned as an ensign in November, with the entire Samsung family including his grandmother Hong Ra-hee gathering to congratulate him. His rare move drew attention in South Korea, where most scions of conglomerate or chaebol families are mysteriously exempt from mandatory military service. 2026-01-23 16:06:03

Samsung Display supplies OLED cockpit, rear screens for Zeekr's flagship SUV SEOUL, January 21 (AJP) - Samsung Display said Wednesday it is supplying three types of automotive OLED displays for the flagship luxury SUV from Chinese electric-vehicle brand Zeekr. The Zeekr 9X has ranked first in China’s large-SUV segment priced at around 500,000 yuan ($70,000) for two consecutive months since November, according to the company. Under the deal, Samsung Display is providing a 16-inch center information display, a 16-inch front passenger display and a 17-inch rear-seat entertainment display. The center and passenger displays are positioned side by side across the front cockpit, extending from the driver’s seat to the front passenger seat. With slim bezels and OLED’s true-black image quality, the two front displays can visually appear as a single wide panel while operating independently, improving usability for both the driver and front passenger, the company said. The 17-inch rear-seat display features a wing-style sliding mechanism. The screen can move up to 88 centimeters along interior rails, addressing the limited visibility of fixed rear-seat displays for third-row passengers. Samsung Display said the large screen size, wide viewing angles, high contrast and deep-black performance are designed to enhance the cabin experience in the six-seat SUV. “Our automotive OLEDs deliver high brightness along with true-black image quality,” said Choi Yong-seok, vice president in charge of automotive sales at Samsung Display. “We will continue to strengthen partnerships with global automakers and drive growth in the automotive OLED market through differentiated, high-performance products.” Samsung Display first supplied OLED panels for Zeekr’s 009 model in 2024 and has since expanded the partnership to include the 9X, the company said. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2026-01-21 08:35:47

Samsung working with US labs to develop next-generation clothes dryer SEOUL, January 15 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics said on Thursday that its research into next-generation clothes-drying technology has been selected for official support by the U.S. Department of Energy. The South Korean electronics giant said the project aims to develop a high-performance dryer that sharply reduces energy use while maintaining drying efficiency. Samsung is working with Oak Ridge National Laboratory of the U.S. and the University of South Carolina’s department of chemical engineering on the research. The project focuses on applying a high-efficiency dehumidifying material, known as a desiccant, to clothes dryers. The technology is designed to cut electricity consumption during drying to about 35 percent of that used by conventional vented dryers, while delivering comparable drying performance. Vented dryers are valued for their shorter drying times because they expel humid air outdoors. However, Samsung said their low energy efficiency makes them difficult to operate in typical U.S. homes using 120-volt power, often requiring separate 240-volt electrical work. They also require external ducting to vent air outside. Samsung said commercializing the new technology would allow high-performance dryers to run on standard 120-volt power without the need for external venting, reducing installation constraints. Such improvements could expand the use of dryers in a wider range of housing, including multiunit residential buildings and small apartments, the company said. Samsung said it plans to apply the research findings across multiple product lines, including standalone dryers and all-in-one washer-dryer units. Moon Jong Seung, a vice president in Samsung Electronics’ Digital Appliances Business Division, said the project represents “a practical opportunity to connect innovative energy-saving technology to value consumers can feel.” "We aim to expand appliances that support sustainable daily life through collaboration with global research institutions," Moon said. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2026-01-15 08:52:44

SK hynix expands AI chip capacity with new $14 billion plant in Cheongju SEOUL, January 13 (AJP) - SK hynix will invest about 19 trillion won ($14 billion) to build a new advanced semiconductor packaging plant in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, in a move to meet surging global demand for high-bandwidth memory. The South Korean chipmaker said Tuesday that the investment will bolster its next-generation memory competitiveness, particularly in HBM, a critical component for AI data centers, while aligning with the government’s push for more balanced regional development. In a statement posted on its newsroom website, SK hynix said it selected Cheongju after reviewing multiple locations, citing the importance of close links between front-end chipmaking and back-end packaging and testing. Accessibility, logistics efficiency and operational stability were key considerations, the company said. The new facility, known as P&T7, will handle the packaging and testing of chips produced in front-end fabs, completing them as final products. While front-end processes form circuits on silicon wafers, back-end operations cut, package and verify the chips. Advanced packaging has taken on growing importance as it directly affects performance and power efficiency in AI-focused memory products such as HBM. With the project, SK hynix will operate advanced packaging bases in three locations: Icheon and Cheongju in South Korea, and West Lafayette, Indiana. The P&T7 plant will be built on a 230,000-square-meter site within the Cheongju Technopolis industrial complex. Construction is scheduled to begin in April, with completion targeted for the end of 2027. The company said the Cheongju campus will form an integrated semiconductor cluster spanning NAND flash and DRAM production through advanced packaging. SK hynix already operates several NAND fabs in the area, including M11, M12 and M15, along with a back-end facility, P&T3. It is also building its next-generation DRAM line, M15X, following a separate 20 trillion won investment decision last year. SK hynix said M15X opened its cleanroom ahead of schedule in October and is currently installing equipment as it prepares for early operations. The company plans to link front-end and back-end production more tightly, with P&T7 expected to play a central role in converting DRAM produced at M15X into HBM. Market researchers forecast the global HBM market will expand at an annual rate of more than 30 percent through 2030, driven by intensifying competition among technology companies to scale AI computing infrastructure. SK hynix also framed the investment as part of a broader effort to strengthen South Korea’s industrial base amid ongoing debate over the concentration of corporate investment in the Seoul metropolitan area. “The Cheongju P&T7 investment reflects a decision to build a foundation for competitiveness across the industrial ecosystem and regional coexistence, beyond short-term cost considerations,” the company said. 2026-01-13 10:00:53

Samsung regains top spot in global DRAM, NAND markets SEOUL, January 08 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics has regained the top global position in both DRAM and NAND flash memory following stronger-than-expected preliminary fourth-quarter results, according to data from industry researcher Counterpoint Research, released on Thursday. The research firm estimated that Samsung’s memory semiconductor revenue rose 34 percent from the previous quarter to $25.9 billion in the fourth quarter. DRAM accounted for $19.2 billion of the total, while NAND flash contributed $6.7 billion. Over the same period, SK hynix posted total memory revenue of $22.4 billion, including $17.1 billion from DRAM and $5.3 billion from NAND, Counterpoint said. The figures put Samsung back in the No. 1 spot in the global DRAM market after a year. Samsung had dominated the segment for about three decades through the fourth quarter of 2024, before losing the top position to SK hynix for the first time in the first quarter of 2025. Choi Jeong-gu, a research director at Counterpoint, said Samsung has responded effectively to shifts in demand by steering its commodity DRAM output toward server applications, while adopting advanced manufacturing nodes. These include a 4-nanometer logic process for next-generation high-bandwidth memory, or HBM4, which he said has delivered improvements in speed and thermal performance. Choi added that Samsung’s efforts to address internal issues, including an earlier focus on short-term results, and to refocus on technological competitiveness are now translating into improved market performance. 2026-01-08 15:55:30

US softens export curbs on chip equipment for Samsung, SK hynix plants in China SEOUL, December 30 (AJP) - The United States has decided to partially ease planned restrictions on shipments of semiconductor manufacturing equipment to Samsung Electronics and SK hynix plants in China, helping the South Korean chipmakers avoid immediate and significant operational disruptions, industry officials said on Tuesday. Washington had been preparing to revoke the companies’ broad export authorization status and require case-by-case approvals for each shipment of U.S.-made equipment. Instead, it has shifted to a system under which equipment exports will be approved on an annual basis, the officials said. Under the revised approach, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) will cancel the Verified End User (VEU) status previously granted to the companies’ China-based plants but will allow exports through once-a-year approvals covering specified volumes of equipment. VEU status allows recipients to import U.S.-origin equipment without individual licences if they meet certain security requirements. Samsung’s NAND flash memory plant in Xian and SK hynix’s DRAM plant in Wuxi and NAND flash facility in Dalian had been designated as VEUs, enabling relatively unrestricted imports of U.S. equipment. In late August, however, BIS said it would remove three China-based subsidiaries operating those plants from the VEU list. That decision was due to take effect on Dec. 31 following a 120-day grace period after publication in the Federal Register on Sept. 2. Under the original plan, the plants would have been required to seek separate U.S. approval for each shipment of U.S.-made equipment from year-end, raising concerns about delays and potential disruptions to production. As the grace period neared its end, the U.S. government opted to soften its stance by introducing an annual approval system. Under the framework, companies will submit advance applications detailing the types and quantities of equipment and parts they plan to import, with U.S. authorities reviewing and deciding whether to grant approval. Industry officials said the process is more burdensome than maintaining VEU status but significantly less risky than applying for licences on a shipment-by-shipment basis. U.S. authorities had estimated that without VEU status, Samsung and SK hynix could be required to file roughly 1,000 licence applications a year. Still, officials cautioned that uncertainty remains, as it can be difficult to accurately forecast annual equipment demand, and the outcome of the approval process could still affect operations at the China-based plants. 2025-12-30 13:48:10