In the first quarter of 2025, SK Sillron's silicon wafer sales to SK Hynix exceeded Samsung Electronics for the first time.
According to the significant customer sales data disclosed in SK Siltron's business report on May 16th, the company sold silicon wafers worth KRW 124.4 billion to Company A and products worth KRW 128.8 billion to Company B in the first quarter. Compared to the same period last year, Company A's sales have decreased by approximately 27%, while Company B's sales have increased by approximately 32%. It is speculated that Company A is Samsung Electronics and Company B is SK Hynix. This means that after being acquired by SK Group in 2017, SK Hynix became the largest customer for SK Sillon silicon wafers for the first time since disclosing significant customer sales data in 2018.
Silicon wafers are a key raw material for manufacturing semiconductor chips, and SK Silvron is one of the world's top three silicon wafer companies, alongside Japan's Shin Etsu Chemical and SUMCO. There are multiple possibilities raised regarding the changes in SK Sillon's sales performance: Samsung Electronics may have reduced the proportion of silicon wafers purchased from SK Sillon due to a change in procurement strategy, or SK Hynix may have increased the proportion of silicon wafers purchased from SK Sillon. But industry experts are more inclined to believe that the vastly different business situations of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix in recent times are the main reasons for the changes in SK Sillon's sales record.
Samsung Electronics' memory business is facing difficulties due to the weakened competitiveness of ordinary DRAM and HBM products and delayed technology roadmap. Its OEM business has experienced a decrease in production capacity due to reduced customer orders, resulting in a halving of equipment investment compared to the previous year. Since last year, SK Hynix has been maximizing its production capacity for the 10 nanometer fifth generation (1b). Products such as the fifth generation HBM (HBM3E) have been selling rapidly, and new factories such as M15X are being established, while old factories and existing packaging factories are being transformed into HBM production lines.
Despite the significant gap in existing semiconductor production capacity between Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, this phenomenon still deserves attention. An industry insider explained, 'As far as I know, there has not been a significant change in the proportion of silicon wafer procurement among companies. Rather than a change in silicon wafer procurement strategy, it is more accurate to say that Samsung Electronics' overall production in memory and foundry has decreased, while SK Hynix has made progress, which has led to a reversal in silicon wafer sales.'. ”
In addition, SK Siltron's silicon carbide (SiC) business, which has been nurtured as a new business, performed poorly in the first quarter. SK Sillron's SiC wafer company, SK Sillron CSS (SK Sillron USA), achieved sales of KRW 61.47 billion and an operating loss of KRW 63.4 billion in the first quarter of 2025. Compared to the same period last year, sales decreased significantly from KRW 21.3 billion, and operating losses increased significantly from KRW 26.3 billion. SK Siltron entered this field in 2019 by acquiring DuPont's SiC wafer business unit for $450 million (approximately KRW 630 billion). However, the business did not meet expectations in terms of technological competitiveness, customer orders, and market conditions. Some believe that this business, which was once seen as the company's next-generation industry, may become a "pain point" for SK Group, which is currently undergoing the sale of SK Sillon to achieve rebalancing. An industry insider explained, "SK Group may adopt a strategy of only selling profitable silicon wafer businesses, making SK Siltron an attractive asset while retaining the SiC silicon wafer company within the group
