Seoul Korea - SK Hynix is expected on December 7 that its exports this year would reach a historic high of 14.6 trillion won. Since being taken over by SK Group in 2012 when the group's chairman Chey Tae-won urged the whole group affiliates to turn into export-oriented organizations, the memory chip maker's exports have increased 50.5 percent from 9.3 trillion won. In recognition of its contribution to increasing the nation's exports and developing the semiconductor industry, the company won the $10-billion export award on the 51st Trade Day on December 5 given by the Korea International Trade Association.
Established in 1983 as Hyundai Electronics, SK Hynix has since experienced many ups and downs. For about six years since the founding, the company grew rapidly to make the world's top-20 list in 1989. But it went through hard times following the 1998 Asian financial crisis and the ensuing restructuring. In October 2001, it went bankrupt and went into a workout program under the supervision of creditors.
For 17 consecutive quarters between 2003 and 2007, the company posted a positive net profit, which was seen as a sign that it was finally regaining its former glory. But it fell again in 2008 in the wake of the global financial crisis by recording a net loss of more than 5 trillion won. A company official recollected, "At the time, we had technology but was weak in financial backing. That's why our financial results were fluctuating wildly."
Since the company moved into the umbrella of SK Group in 2012, things have changed fundamentally. Thanks to the deep-pocketed parent group, it could make large-scale investment even when market conditions were not so auspicious. Fortunately for the company, the global memory market was shifting into an oligopoly controlled by a few producers including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix after Japan's Elpida Memory went out of business. As a result, its exports increased to 13 trillion won last year from 9 trillion won in 2012 and now the company is expected to hit 14.6 trillion won at the end of the year.
