SK Hynix and LG Display - suppliers of memory chips and displays to Apple,
posted record fourth-quarter profits mainly due to the soaring demand for Apple products.
SK Hynix reported net income, excluding minority interest, of 1.62 trillion won ($1.5 billion) in the three months ended December, Icheon, South Korea-based SK Hynix said Wednesday.
High demand for Apple products, including large-screen iPhones and refreshed Macs, and stable component prices helped boost earnings at the world?s second-largest maker of memory chips.
South Korea's LG Display also reported on Wednesday its highest quarterly profit in almost four years, buoyed by robust demand for liquid crystal displays (LCDs).
LG Display said operating profit more than doubled for the October-December period from a year earlier to 625.8 billion won ($580.14 million). The company also reported revenue of 8.3 trillion won for October-December, up 17.8 percent from a year earlier.
TFT-LCD panels for TVs accounted for 36% of revenue in the fourth quarter of 2014, mobile device panels for 23%, tablet PCs 19%, monitors 14%, and notebook PCs 8%, LG Display said.
The company added that January-March panel shipments will likely fall by a mid-single digit percentage rate in sequential terms, while average selling price will remain stable.
Apple reported Tuesday that sales of iPhones in the December quarter rose 46 percent to 74.5 million units, topping analysts? estimates of 64.9 million.