Samsung Electronics to expand 5th Gen HBM Sales in Q4

Samsung Electronics reported an operating profit of 3.86 trillion won from its semiconductor business in the third quarter. The company also hinted at the possibility of supplying its fifth-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM), HBM3E, to Nvidia by the end of the year.

On Thursday, Samsung Electronics reported consolidated sales of 79.1 trillion won and an operating profit of 9.18 trillion won for the third quarter. Operating profit in the semiconductor (DS) division was 3.86 trillion won, down 2.59 trillion won from the previous quarter. This decline was attributed to losses in the foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing) and system LSI divisions, which fell within the mid-to-high 1 trillion won range, due to delayed HBM supply to Nvidia and an increase in Chinese-made D-RAM in the general-purpose market. Performance bonuses totaling 1 trillion won, scheduled for early next year, also impacted results. “Excluding one-time expenses, such as incentives, and considering the size of the deficit in the foundry and system LSI divisions, the operating profit of the memory business unit is estimated to be close to 7 trillion won,” Samsung said.

R&D expenses in the third quarter reached a record 8.87 trillion won, representing approximately 97% of the total operating profit for the period.

During the earnings call, Kim Jae-joon, executive vice president of Samsung Electronics' Memory Business, commented on the HBM3E supply: “We have completed the major phase of quality testing with key customers and expect sales to expand in the fourth quarter.” He also hinted at supplying Nvidia within the year.


Do-Young Kwak now@donga.com