SK Hynix Inc.'s Proposed U.S. Dollar Senior Unsecured Notes Rated 'BBB-'

HONG KONG (S&P Global Ratings) Aug. 30, 2019-- S&P Global Ratings today said it has assigned its 'BBB-' issue rating to the U.S. dollar-denominated unsecured notes issued by SK Hynix Inc. (BBB-/Stable/--). The company plans to put the proceeds to general use, including debt repayment and capital expenditure. We expect SK Hynix's 2019 operating performance to be materially weaker than 2018, mainly due to sizable global expansion in DRAM and NAND, which are types of memory chip, and sluggish macro indicators, such as a decline of 23% (in U.S.-dollar value) in the year to end-July in Korea's semiconductor exports. Coupled with heightened U.S.-China and Korea-Japan trade tensions, we expect SK Hynix's EBITDA to decline nearly 60% in 2019. Despite its

...August 30, 2019 HONG KONG (S&P Global Ratings) Aug. 30, 2019-- S&P Global Ratings today said it has assigned its '###-' issue rating to the U.S. dollar-denominated unsecured notes issued by SK Hynix Inc. (###-/Stable/--). The company plans to put the proceeds to general use, including debt repayment and capital expenditure. We expect SK Hynix's 2019 operating performance to be materially weaker than 2018, mainly due to sizable global expansion in DRAM and NAND, which are types of memory chip, and sluggish macro indicators, such as a decline of 23% (in U.S.-dollar value) in the year to end-July in Korea's semiconductor exports. Coupled with heightened U.S.-China and Korea-Japan trade tensions, we expect SK Hynix's EBITDA to decline nearly 60% in 2019. Despite its deteriorating operating profitability, we believe SK Hynix will maintain steady financial metrics of 0.6x¡1.0x debt to EBITDA over the next two years, mainly due to its firm position as the world's second-largest DRAM maker. As...

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