SK hynix to Pay 150% of Base Salary as PI Bonus for First Half of the Year

SK hynix has decided to pay all employees a PI (Productivity Incentive) bonus equivalent to 150% of their base salary, reflecting positive performance in the company's first-half results this year.

This is the maximum level according to the company's internal bonus criteria.

Application of maximum performance bonus criteria… for all employees

According to industry reports on the 23rd, SK hynix officially announced in an internal notice that "the PI for the first half will be paid at 150% of the base salary on the 28th."

PI is one of SK hynix's representative performance compensation systems, operated alongside PS (excess profit share). The company applies the PI payment rate differentially based on the achievement level of plans and targets set biannually, with a payment rate of 150% if the operating profit margin exceeds 30%.

If the operating profit margin is above 30%, it is set at 150%; if it is between 15% and 30%, it is 125%; and if it is below 15% to 0%, it is 100%.

If the operating profit margin is between -10% and 0%, the PI payment rate is 50%, and if it is below -10%, no PI is paid.

Operating profit margin of 42% in the first quarter… meeting the performance bonus criteria

This PI is calculated based on the first-quarter results of 2024. In the first quarter, SK hynix achieved sales of 17.6391 trillion won and operating profit of 7.4405 trillion won, resulting in an operating profit margin of 42%.

This figure corresponds to the highest tier on the performance bonus payment criteria table.

The market anticipates that SK hynix's second-quarter results will also continue to show strength. According to financial information firm FnGuide, SK hynix is projected to record sales of 20.7186 trillion won and operating profit of 9.0648 trillion won in the second quarter, which represents increases of 26.15% and 65.76% respectively compared to the same period last year.

An industry insider stated, "The strong sales of high-value memory products such as HBM3E due to increased demand for AI semiconductors are significant factors driving the rise in performance bonuses," adding, "If this trend continues in the second half, SK hynix's annual performance may break its historical records."

Samsung Electronics TAI Payment Rate Halved… Semiconductor Division Limited to a Maximum of 25%

With Samsung Electronics announcing the TAI (Target Achievement Incentive, former PI) payment rate for the first half of the year, it has been revealed that the performance bonus has significantly decreased, mainly in the semiconductor sector.

Samsung Electronics pays TAI based on performance and evaluation, reflecting the achievements of business divisions and units, with a maximum payment of 100% of the monthly base salary. For this first half, the payment rate for the DS (Device Solutions) division has been announced at a level of 0-25%. Specifically, the memory division received 25%, while the foundry division received 0%, and both the system LSI and semiconductor research institutes received 12.5%.

This is more than a 50% reduction compared to last year's first-half TAI payment rates of 75% for memory, 37.5% for foundry, 37.5% for system LSI, and 50% for the semiconductor research institute. At that time, executives in the DS division voluntarily returned their TAI.

The low performance bonus in the DS division is analyzed to be influenced by the overall decline in performance, such as losing competitiveness in the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) sector and poor foundry orders.

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