Samsung's, SK hynix's Q3 earnings outlook grim amid weakened global chip demand

All News 11:11 September 25, 2022

SEOUL, Sept. 25 (Yonhap) – The third-quarter earnings outlooks for Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc., the world's top two leading chip manufacturers, remain largely grim due to a recent fall in global demand for memory chips, an industry data analysis showed Sunday.

According to the analysis by Yonhap Infomax of earnings outlooks for the two companies by securities companies within the past month, Samsung and SK hynix were expected to record operating profits of 12.8 trillion won (US$9.07 billion) and 2.59 trillion won on a consolidated basis during the July-September period, respectively.

This file photo, provided by Samsung Electronics Co., shows the tech giant's new production line (P3) in Pyeongtaek, 65 kilometers south of Seoul, the largest chip manufacturing facility ever built to date by Samsung, whose production of state-of-the-art NAND flash began on Sept. 7, 2022. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

The operating profit predictions of Samsung and SK hynix represents 18.6 percent and 37.8 percent drops from their respective third-quarter results from a year ago.

The expected declines in earnings were largely attributed to the effects of the growing global inflationary pressure weighing down global demand for memory chips.

Do Hyeon-woo, a chip industry analyst at NH Investment & Securities Co., estimated Samsung's DRAM shipment volume to decrease by 3 percent in the third quarter and expected its average selling price (ASP) of chips to plunge by 17 percent.

Eo Gyu-jin, an analyst at DB Financial Investment Co., predicted the companies' earnings to rebound starting in the fourth quarter of 2023, following an expected revival of the global chip industry in the second quarter of next year.