{"text":[[{"start":9.3,"text":"SK Hynix posted another record quarter with a fivefold jump in earnings as the world’s second-largest memory chipmaker stressed a “structural shift” in the sector with booming AI demand continuing to strain chip supply."}],[{"start":23.950000000000003,"text":"The South Korean company said on Thursday that operating profit rose to Won37.6tn ($25.4bn) in the first three months of this year, beating analyst estimates of Won35.7tn. Revenue for the key supplier to semiconductor titan Nvidia nearly tripled to Won52.6tn from a year earlier."}],[{"start":46.800000000000004,"text":"SK Hynix expected the upcycle to last longer than in the past as customers prioritised procurement over pricing amid the supply crunch, while capacity constraints limited supply expansion."}],[{"start":59.650000000000006,"text":"“The current cycle seems different from the past as memory price upswings are driven by structural changes rather than temporary demand and supply,” said Joon Deok Park, head of DRam marketing at SK Hynix. "}],[{"start":73.35000000000001,"text":"The South Korean company plans to significantly increase its capital spending this year in response to long-term demand growth as Big Tech companies spend hundreds of billions of dollars on AI hardware. "}],[{"start":86.05000000000001,"text":"Last month, SK Hynix announced a plan to spend about $8bn on extreme ultraviolet lithography machines from ASML, while Samsung was set to spend a record Won110tn on chip capacity expansion and research this year to strengthen its competitiveness in AI chips."}],[{"start":104.15,"text":"SK Hynix said customer demand for high-bandwidth chips used in AI processors over the next three years far exceeded its production capacity. "}],[{"start":113.65,"text":"A global build-out of data centres to support AI models has lifted prices of both high-bandwidth and conventional memory chips as manufacturers prioritise higher-margin AI products."}],[{"start":126,"text":"SK Hynix leads the high-bandwidth memory market with a 57 per cent share as of the end of last year, followed by Samsung and Micron Technology, according to Counterpoint Research."}],[{"start":136.6,"text":"Demand for AI server chips remains strong, increasingly driven by inference workloads, where applications such as chatbots generate responses."}],[{"start":145.5,"text":"SK Hynix also dismissed concerns that the spread of memory-efficiency technologies such as Google’s TurboQuant might dent chip demand, saying they would further expand memory demand by enhancing the economic viability of AI services."}],[{"start":161.35,"text":"“The advancement of the memory optimisation technology will actually serve as a catalyst for driving memory demand further by expanding the AI ecosystem,” Park said."}],[{"start":174.15,"text":"His remarks have strengthened investor confidence that the sector — prone to boom-and-bust cycles — may be entering a more sustained upcycle as customers increasingly lock in long-term contracts to secure supply."}],[{"start":186.9,"text":"“We are seeing a clear structural change,” said Kwon Seok-joon, a professor at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul. “Where the market was once driven by cyclical commodity chips, demand for AI-specialised memory chips is getting bigger now, extending the upcycle. Based on current long-term contracts, it could last through next year and possibly to 2028.”"}],[{"start":209.5,"text":"Citi analysts expected AI inference demand to support memory pricing this year, particularly for server DRam, but warned that growth could slow if the Iran conflict dragged on."}],[{"start":220.45,"text":"Chip production has largely avoided disruption, although tensions in the Middle East have raised energy costs for data centres. SK Hynix said the short-to-long-term impact of the geopolitical risks on material supply would be limited, citing enough inventories and diversified sourcing. "}],[{"start":238.2,"text":"SK Hynix shares have surged about 90 per cent this year and are up almost 600 per cent over the past 12 months. Samsung shares have also gained more than 80 per cent this year, with the company’s 2026 earnings forecast to increase four to fivefold."}],[{"start":264.2,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1776927518_9335.mp3"}