Japanese NAND flash maker Kioxia Holdings said on the 31st that consolidation net profit for April to June came to 842.1 billion yen (about 7.6 trillion won), about 46 times higher than a year earlier.
Revenue for the same period was 1.7671 trillion yen (about 15.9 trillion won), up 415.5% from a year earlier. Operating profit was 1.27 trillion yen (about 11.4 trillion won). Operating profit in the same period last year was 44.9 billion yen.
Operating profit and net profit for April to June fell short of Kioxia's forecasts presented in May of 1.3 trillion yen and 869 billion yen. However, results surged from a year earlier as the average selling price of NAND flash jumped on stronger demand from data center customers for generative artificial intelligence (AI). Higher bit shipments and a weaker yen also supported the improvement.
By product, the "SSD and storage" institutional sector, which includes data center and corporations and PC products, posted 1.1747 trillion yen, accounting for about 66% of total revenue. The "smart devices" institutional sector, used in smartphones and automotive and industrial equipment, recorded 525.7 billion yen in revenue.
Kioxia projected revenue of 2.39 trillion yen, operating profit of 1.89 trillion yen, and net profit of 1.27 trillion yen for July to September. It said revenue and profit would both rise from April to June as data center demand remains strong. However, the operating profit outlook for July to September fell short of the market consensus of 1.95 trillion yen compiled by financial information firm LSEG.
As a shareholder return measure, Kioxia will also conduct a share buyback of up to 800 billion yen. From Aug. 3 to Oct. 30, it plans to purchase up to 30 million shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. This corresponds to 5.5% of shares outstanding as of the end of June.
In addition, to lower the investment unit price and increase stock liquidity, it will conduct a stock split on Oct. 1, with an effective date, splitting one common share into three.