Its global rank also jumped to No. 4 from seventh. Inthe memory chip segment, SK Hynix now ranks No.2 right behind Samsung Electronics.
SK Hynix posted an operating profit of 3.38 trillion won last year, the highest in its history, emerging as the biggest cash cow for the SK Group, overtaking SK Telecom and SK Innovation.
In the second half of 2011, SK joined the race to acquire Hynix Semiconductor. There were many who expressed concerns about SK’s attempt to acquire Hynix, saying that the acquisition price tag was too high at more than 3.3 trillion won and the acquisition may not bring about much synergy.
Hynix had posted sales of 10.39 trillion won and operating profit of 369 billion won in 2011 before it remained independent from SK Group. After joining the group, Hynix achieved record-high performance last year, with its sales and operating profit growing 36 percent and 900 percent, respectively, compared to two years ago, defying negative predictions of naysayers.
