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Investing.com-- SK Hynix Inc (KS:000660) clocked a sharp jump in its first-quarter profit on Thursday, as the South Korean Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) supplier continued to benefit from strong demand for advanced memory chips from the artificial intelligence industry.
Fears of U.S.-China trade disruptions and increasing Chinese AI development also helped spur chip demand through the first quarter, both of advanced chips and those used in consumer electronics.
SK Hynix’ operating profit jumped over 150% to 7.44 trillion won ($5.2 billion) in the three months to March 31, also beating expectations for a 6.6 trillion won print. Revenue jumped to 17.54 trillion won, and was the company’s second-highest quarterly revenue print after a record high in the December quarter.
SK Hynix mass produces the most advanced high-bandwith memory chips used in AI applications, making the company a key part of the chipmaking industry. The company is a major supplier to AI major Nvidia, which uses SK Hynix’ memory chips across its AI offerings.
The South Korean chipmaker has benefited greatly from increased AI chip demand over the past two years, as more companies rushed to build data center capacity and roll out their own AI programs.
In the first quarter, SK Hynix also benefited from companies stockpiling chips in anticipation of heightened global trade disruptions under U.S. President Donald Trump, who slapped higher tariffs on several industries and kickstarted a trade war with China.