SK Hynix Declares $198 Million Quarterly Dividend, to Set Additional Shareholder Returns in Third Quarter

$0.27 a share for holders of record on Aug. 31

Market expects shareholder returns of about $72 billion, including buybacks

SK Hynix said on Aug. 7 it will pay a quarterly cash dividend of 375 won, or about $0.27, per common share. The total payout amounts to 273.3248 billion won, or about $198 million. The chipmaker also said it plans to announce additional shareholder return measures in the third quarter.

The dividend yield for the quarterly payout is 0.02% for common shares. The record date is Aug. 31, and SK Hynix said it plans to pay the dividend within one month of that date.

In a separate filing on Aug. 7, the company said it is reviewing additional shareholder return measures to enhance shareholder value. Details will be finalized and announced in the third quarter, moving up an earlier plan to unveil the measures by year-end.

SK Hynix is preparing a shareholder return program worth about 100 trillion won, or roughly $72.4 billion, including share buybacks and cash dividends, the report said. The buyback portion could reach 40 trillion won, or about $29 billion. That would amount to slightly more than 2% of outstanding shares, similar to the 2.5% in new shares issued for the company's American depositary receipt listing. Last year, cash dividends totaled 2.1 trillion won, or about $1.52 billion, while treasury share cancellations came to 12.2 trillion won, or about $8.84 billion, for a combined 14.3 trillion won, or about $10.36 billion.

The planned shareholder returns reflect strong confidence in second-half earnings. SK Hynix stands to post record operating profit and free cash flow on the back of its dominant position in high-bandwidth memory, a core AI infrastructure component. Financial data platform Epic AI projects the company will generate 345.6052 trillion won, or about $250.4 billion, in revenue this year and 266.3757 trillion won, or about $193 billion, in operating profit. That would mark increases of 255.76% and 464.28%, respectively, from a year earlier.

On its second-quarter earnings conference call last month, SK Hynix said shipments of sixth-generation HBM4 products will expand in earnest in the second half. Shipments of leading-edge conventional DRAM will also rise, lifting second-half volumes above first-half levels.

Kang Hae-ryeong, Hankyung.com reporter, hr.kang@hankyung.com